A new place for Milliken: the company has given a familiar brand a techonolgy upgrade, blending texture with color and pattern.

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LA GRANGE, Ga. -- A new technology has helped Milliken Carpet move into new territory with Milliken Place, a new residential Stainmaster carpet collection.

The technology is called Convergence and was developed to marry texture with color and pattern, allowing the Milliken Place collection to exhibit an uncommon level of dimension for a printed line. The company described the effect as pattern emerging through texture and texture through pattern.

"It's the convergence of design with digital color placement," said Scott Reams, market manager for Milliken Residential. "It's really highlighting the uniqueness we can bring."

Reams said the initial lineup includes "traditional Saxonies and friezes that can coordinate with everything." Also included are a looped rib and level loop, each in two weights, and a stepped rib in a 40-ounce weight only. The company plans to add additional bases throughout 2007.

The collection begins with 18 patterns, at a midlevel price point, and with a range of six to 20 colors available for each pattern. Milliken chose Tactesse nylon fiber for the line for its soft hand.

The brand itself is one from the company's past but, most definitely, updated for the present. Reams said Milliken Place was a brand the company used in the 1970s and then got out of in the late '80s. This relaunch invites customers to create an element of "home as sanctuary" with the tag line: Come Home to Milliken Place.

To create the new collection, the company said it approached the task with a coordinating story of patterns and colorations that were designed to work in harmony together throughout any interior space. Inspiration for the varied designs came from natural elements, weaving and classic vintage textiles. Patterning includes damasks, plaids, lattices and basket weaves. Colorations include aqua blues, leaf greens, golds, browns and creams, and were chosen for their ability to complement varied decorative styles.

Kay Gosline, creative director for the company, said the patterns were devised to be "flexible enough to be used in a wide range of residential interiors."

One of the primary goals was to create a collection that was entirely family-friendly, but still big on design. The combination of soft, elegant patterning and coloration, with Stainmaster durability and a retail price range of $36 to $48 per square yard before installation joined to fulfill that goal.

Reams said Milliken Place will be launched specifically through the specialty carpet channel, explaining the company is "trying to create the brand and the proper image, so we don't want to go mass."

To appeal to that specialty customer, there is also a new display that showcases roughly 180 SKUs, but is structurally and strategically capable of accommodating more patterns as the line progresses, Reams said. The display itself maintains Milliken's century-old commitment to working with the environment, as opposed to against it. Not only is the display made of recycled materials, but anyone who purchases a display receives a membership to the Arbor Day Foundation.

"We were 'green' before green was cool," Reams said. "Since 1902 actually. And we're continuing on this path because it's the right way to be."

The company stressed it isn't leaving behind the product for which it has long been known. Milliken Place was created to open new doors and welcome a new customer to the company, not to leave its existing customers behind.

"We are in no way abandoning who we are and what made us great," Reams said. "The idea is separate, but together."