It might be time for you and your guests to step onto a new doormat this spring.
Options for front porches, patios, back and side doors, balconies and courtyards range from cutesy cartoon-like designs to elegant styles in hot colors.
Grays, shades of blue, such as aquamarine, and Pantone colors of the year — Marsala for 2015 and Radiant Orchid for 2014 — are among the colors seen in new doormats and collections this year. Also consider these materials and patterns when buying a new doormat for your home, townhome, condo or apartment.
Reused materials: Recycled rubber mats, available at home improvement retailers, garden shops and online, often take on an ornamental design that look like wrought iron gates. Options by companies such as Entryway include doormats with a scrollwork design, fleur-de-lis look and motif of chains, loops and hearts. Multi-colored mats made of old flip-flops are sold through online retailers such as uncommongoods.com. Another option are handwoven doormats made out of old lobster rope, sold by retailers including The New England Trading Co. (thenewenglandtradingcompany.com) and The Rope Co., (theropeco.com).
Greetings and well wishes: Hello/goodbye messages in script are flip-flopped in doormats to be readable by visitors arriving and departing. Pottery Barn's hello/goodbye doormat (potterybarn.com) is made of woven coir. The hi-bye coir doormat by Esschert Design is sold through retailers such as amazon.com. Other options are the "Hey There"/"Take Care," "Hey Y'all"/"Bye Now" and smiley face and frowning face emoticon doormats, sold through Dichotomat on etsy.com (etsy.com/shop/Dichotomat).
Patterns for your preference: Mats are designed to mimic the look of rings, knots and geometric shapes and imagery such as waves, chevrons, Greek key, dots, stripes, Chinese chippendale, cheetah print and other patterns. Other doormats evoke the garden and outdoors, such as Esschert Designs' decorative doormats depicting bird houses, flower pots and even a potting table. Floral options include Ballard Designs' geranium coir mat, which can be personalized (BallardDesigns.com) and Frontgate's tropic-themed mat with palm leaves (frontgate.com). Entryway's new welcome mat combines many of these elements: stripes at the top, a wave pattern at the bottom with the word "welcome," written in script, plus made in Radiant Orchid (sold through retailers such as Amazon.com).
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