A Co. Armagh company has just completed a mammoth contract – carpeting the iconic Queen Elizabeth ship.
The vessel exudes luxury and elegance with sumptuous staterooms, spacious lounges and fine dining.
Featuring real wood panelling, gleaming chandeliers, handmade upholstery and now, of course, luxurious axminster carpets manufactured in the UK by Portadown-based Ulster Carpets.
The youngest ship in the Cunard fleet underwent her latest refurbishment in November 2018.
Ulster Carpets was delighted to work with London-based M Studio Design to supply 45000m² of carpet – enough to cover Wembley football pitch six and a half times.
Working closely with Alan McVitty at M Studio Design and Cunard, Ulster Carpets’ brief was to supply exemplary luxury carpet throughout the ship.
Alison Clixby, Cunard’s Hotel Design Director, was keen to marry the ship’s elegant Art Deco heritage with up to date interior furnishings and colour schemes. It was also important to create continuity within the fleet, so previous designs used on Queen Mary and Queen Victoria have been referenced in places, recoloured and modified to suit.
Other areas on the ship have been newly invented with contemporised, sharply delineated Deco geometrics and natural forms. Golds and deep rich blues feature strongly teamed with modern stone grey neutrals and terracottas.
A striking, large scroll and strapwork compass has been created as a signature emblem at Cunard Place, the main embarkation point. This is echoed through the large open area of the Queens Room, the elegant ballroom.
An Ulster Carpets spokesperson said: “All carpet for the Queen Elizabeth has been produced within the UK – from spinning the yarn at Ulster Yarns in Dewsbury to weaving the carpets at our headquarters in Portadown, Northern Ireland and at Griffith Textile Machines (GTM), our manufacturing and engineering facility located in the North East of England.
“In the past both Belfast and the north east of England were heralded for their shipbuilding industries. Over the years these areas witnessed a decline in manufacturing as companies moved their operations overseas to save costs.
“However, Ulster Carpets along with their subsidiary GTM have shown that manufacturing can still thrive in the UK thanks to major investment in innovation, key people skills and strong entrepreneurship.
“Ulster Carpets is proud to have supplied carpets for all three Queens in the Cunard fleet having previously manufactured carpet for Queen Mary 2 in 2016 and Queen Victoria in 2017.”
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