Rivendell worked with our customers’ interior designer to create a simple yet stylish design of carpet that would compliment the buildings traditional features yet give the hotel a modern twist.

Bespoke Stair Carpet

Wooden Floors in Reception Area

Bedroom Carpet

http://www.good.is/post/good-instructions-how-to-spring-clean-with-nontoxic-home-made-products/

Here is a little taster…

All-purpose cleaner. Equal parts vinegar and water. The vinegar smell dissipates as soon as it dries, but if it bothers you add a few drops of lemon juice. Put into a spray bottle and use for almost all of your cleaning.

Windows and mirror cleaner. Pour a quarter of a cup of vinegar in a spray bottle, and fill the rest with with warm water. A bit of Eucalyptus oil rubbed on the mirrors will prevent them from fogging up.

Floor soap. Fill a bucket with warm or hot water, add a quarter of a cup of vinegar and a dash of castile soap. Dunk your rag in the bucket, ring out, and wipe down the floors.

There are some great ideas on how to spring clean your home in a green and environmentally friendly way.  They are also quite cheap ways which I’m sure Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie of ‘How Clean Is Your House?’ fame would approve!

One of our staff has got married so congratulations to her and we have taken on a new sales guy Alan who you may have already met. If you haven’t you’re sure to see him driving around Bristol in our little Rivendell van!

Work wise we have just completed the flooring at a few hotels in Bath. This includes the beautiful Villa Magdala. They required some bespoke carpets with stripes flowing down a complicated network of stairs. Our fitters did a great job and we will be adding lots more photos to the website as soon as we can.

As usual we have been hard at work fitting lots of flooring to homes and offices in and around Bristol including Weston, Clevedon and Devises.

That’s all for now but we are planning to let you know about some great new products and offers so watch this space.

You make think that artificial grass is a prehistoric product reserved for the shelves of fruit and veg shops. You would be surprised; it’s a product that’s becoming increasingly popular with our customers. It is great for:

• Kids play areas
• Areas next to swimming pools
• Roof Gardens
• Grass areas
• High wear and tear areas outside
• Events and shows

Artificial grass doesn’t just come in green it also comes in reds, blues, yellows, whites and blacks.

Give us a call and we can advise you on the right product for your needs.

A couple of weeks ago one of our staff got married and then flew off to Florence for her honeymoon. So congratulations to her! She got married in Bristol and the Rivendell team all turned up to throw confetti and join in the celebrations. Even Mr Binks (the boss’s Weimarana dog) posed for a few photos.

Hot off the press… Mandy and Mr Binks braved the cold and yesterday trying to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. This was an event organised by the Avon Business Club. They completed a 45 mile relay sponsored walk, called the Green Man, in the pouring rain. If you would like to make a donation click here. If you’d like to try the Challenge yourself go to www.closertothecountryside.co.uk

Anyway we will have more information on the latest products and goings on for you soon. ‘Artificial Grass’ nudge, nudge, wink, wink that’s all I’m saying!!

Here goes… some Lord of the Rings/Hobbit trivia:

• Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth.
• It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth, four or five thousand years before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
• Rivendell is a direct translation or calque of the Sindarin name Imladris, both meaning “deep valley of the cleft”.
• The appearance of the valley of Rivendell is based upon the Lauterbrunnental in Switzerland, where J. R. R. Tolkien supposedly hiked. Elrond’s house and the narrow bridge were based upon the area of Watersmeet Lodge in Devon, UK. Tolkien was also inspirited by the ruins of Mystras overlooking the plain of Sparta in southern Greece.
• Rivendell’s MD was read the Hobbit at primary school by Mrs Lake her English teacher when she was just 7 years old.

(All points were supplied by wikipedia click here for more information.)

Here is just a little quote for you from the book…

“…A perfect house, whether you like food or sleep, or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure of weariness, fear and sadness…..here you will hear many songs and tales, but, except on high days, it usually stands empty and quiet and people come here who wish for peace and thought……. Such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds”

Most of the team at Rivendell Carpets in Bristol have read and loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The idea for the name was about wanting to make the Rivendell experience a safe place to choose your flooring.

We hope that you like the name too! I know a few have our customers have chosen us because of their love of the Lord of Rings and all that is Rivendell.

From an honorary hobbit.

P.s. We all very excited about the upcoming release of the new hobbit films.

We were there learn how to let more people know about how great our ‘shopping from experience’ is. Being able to choose flooring samples from the convenience of your own home is definitely something worth shouting about.

The main highlight of the morning was the keynote speaker – Wayne Hemingway MBE, founder of Red or Dead. It was wonderful to hear how he setup a small stall in Camden in a desperate attempt to earn some cash to cover his rent. This developed over time into a highly successful business. He developed it through a love of fashion and through a really strong sense of what he believed in ‘getting designer fashion to the masses’ and an interest in the environment etc, he really made it work.

Essentially if you really believe in what you are doing and are really passionate in the product or service you have to offer that will shine through.

While we might not have 20 or more shops across the world there are many things we love about working in the world of flooring. We love seeing customers’ faces when they see what is possible with flooring. Whether it’s some bamboo flooring which not only looks amazing but is sustainable and environmentally friendly or showing them some gorgeous wool flooring which is the perfect shade tying all those designer details together.

Whether you like fluffy, knobbly, rough or shiny the choice is endless and we are sure to help you find it.

If you are keen to spot Ashton on TV it is part of a two episode story. The episode features Denise Welch (from Dancing on Ice and Loose Women) who plays a female lorry driver who visits her son in hospital. At some point she is at garage having a rant.

They spent most of the morning filming and stopped at lunchtime for a rewrite. Filming started again in the early afternoon and they continued shooting later in the afternoon. Apparently they had also filmed some of the story in the residential area of Southville.

We did spot Denise Welch a few times wondering around. She seemed to spend most of her spare time using her mobile. Most of the film crew stood around drinking coffee and waiting for something to happen all day. Not quite as exciting as you might have hoped. Perhaps I’ll give the world of show biz a miss then : )

Well the celebrity world of BBC’s Casualty has now been and gone.

If you are keen to spot Ashton it is part of a two episode story where Denise Welch plays a female lorry driver who visits her son in hospital. At some point she is at garage having a rant.

They spent this morning filming and stopped for a rewrite over lunch until early afternoon and then continued shooting later in the afternoon.

We did spot Denise Welch a few times wondering around and using her mobile. It seemed like most of the people involved drank coffee and stood around waiting for something to happen all day. Perhaps I’ll give the world of ‘show biz’ a miss then : )

With our beautiful range of striped carpets it’s a get way of adding some extra colour to your stair way. A place that sometimes gets neglected in interior design plans. This photo of a resent project shows how great it could look.

An alternative option is to go for a centre striped stair runner as shown on the left. If you have wood or painted flooring in other areas of your house it’s a wonderful way of showing it of as it looks very stylish.

At Rivendell we get very excited about stripes, we’re a strange lot I know. If you’ve arranged for one of our friendly team to come to your home be sure to ask as they will be able to advise you which carpet ranges will work best. Sure to be a talking point for your new home.

> Check out a resent photo of some striped carpet we fitted in Bristol this month.

Last summer Being Human were filming in Greville Smyth Park opposite. They had loads of artificial lights and they closed off the road so it looks like Ashton is the place to be.  If only we could tempt the likes of Johnny Depp or Natalie Portman to start filming in this area.