Fuck Yeah Hotel Hallway
June 26, 2012 9:00 AM Subscribe
Fuck Yeah Hotel Hallway TheCoug documents unfortunate hotel carpets from his travels. [via mefi projects]
From the word "unfortunate", I was expecting spilled bodily fluids and the like. Since he posts the pictures without comment, it makes a lot more sense if you read the mefi project material first.
posted by ubiquity at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by ubiquity at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
The first time I saw this I was kind of hypnotized via some sort of Manchurian Candidate mind control into vacuuming my entire apartment. I DON'T EVEN HAVE CARPETS.
posted by elizardbits at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 9:05 AM on June 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
this is the kindest, bravest, smartest carpet I have ever met.
posted by The Whelk at 9:06 AM on June 26, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:06 AM on June 26, 2012 [4 favorites]
You know, here I was all excited to find out that John Cougar Mellencamp had a tumblr AND a mefi account! alas...
posted by shmegegge at 9:09 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by shmegegge at 9:09 AM on June 26, 2012
Don't tell TMZ or anything, but John Cougar Mellencamp's mefi username is jonmc.
posted by box at 9:12 AM on June 26, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by box at 9:12 AM on June 26, 2012 [6 favorites]
As weird as these are they are way way WAY better than a stained and patchy white carpet would be. How depressing and expensive-to-maintain.
posted by DU at 9:14 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by DU at 9:14 AM on June 26, 2012
Cortex totally stole my line.
Am I missing something, or are there no captions saying where the carpet comes from ?
posted by k5.user at 9:16 AM on June 26, 2012
Am I missing something, or are there no captions saying where the carpet comes from ?
posted by k5.user at 9:16 AM on June 26, 2012
I was disappointed by the lack of info on where and when the pictures where taken.
posted by oddman at 9:18 AM on June 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by oddman at 9:18 AM on June 26, 2012 [2 favorites]
One final thing I have to do... and then I'll be free of the past.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:21 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:21 AM on June 26, 2012
I don't know if anyone else had this experience, but when I first started to scroll down (via arrow keys), I had the impression that I was actually zooming in on the carpet. I did a double take and had to check that the keys were doing what I thought they should. Even after knowing what was going on, I still got the zooming-in experience to different degrees for different carpets. It was especially strong with the second to last one -- the one with the dark background that has yellow-square stars on it.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 9:25 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 9:25 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
The carpets in hotel hallways are almost universally gaudy, but I won't call these unfortunate, exactly. I've stayed in a some said hotels during my work-related travels. I have seen some unfortunate carpets. These are not them.
posted by asnider at 9:30 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by asnider at 9:30 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Sweet merciful shit where in hell do designers FIND these carpets?
(And yes, because I totally want one.)
posted by 8dot3 at 9:32 AM on June 26, 2012
(And yes, because I totally want one.)
posted by 8dot3 at 9:32 AM on June 26, 2012
These rugs really tie the hallways together.
posted by iconomy at 9:45 AM on June 26, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by iconomy at 9:45 AM on June 26, 2012 [4 favorites]
These got nothing on casino carpets.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:53 AM on June 26, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:53 AM on June 26, 2012 [3 favorites]
Only slightly tangential (and when the hell else can I mention it?):
The saddest carpet I've ever seen was the Continental Airlines Elite Access welcome carpet at a departure gate in I think Terminal 6 at LAX. This was last fall. The terminal itself is way shopworn and was in a half-collapsed, mid-reno state of exposed wiring and sawhorses and hustings and emergency-orange pylons. Boarding lounge areas all cramped, people sprawled out in the hallway, a sort of pile up of computers and phones and harried travelers around every available electrical outlet.
At the gate, there was one of those little Frequent Flyer boarding lines cordoned off to one side of the kiosk. Between the velvet ropes, a blue carpet with gold lettering: "Elite Access." The gold all faded away and half-obscured under a crust of dirt, the blue stained brown and gray. Reminded me of the soiled wig Bart Simpson got for Christmas in his fantasy about juvenile hall in the Simpsons shoplifting episode.
So sad. So very sad.
posted by gompa at 10:13 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
The saddest carpet I've ever seen was the Continental Airlines Elite Access welcome carpet at a departure gate in I think Terminal 6 at LAX. This was last fall. The terminal itself is way shopworn and was in a half-collapsed, mid-reno state of exposed wiring and sawhorses and hustings and emergency-orange pylons. Boarding lounge areas all cramped, people sprawled out in the hallway, a sort of pile up of computers and phones and harried travelers around every available electrical outlet.
At the gate, there was one of those little Frequent Flyer boarding lines cordoned off to one side of the kiosk. Between the velvet ropes, a blue carpet with gold lettering: "Elite Access." The gold all faded away and half-obscured under a crust of dirt, the blue stained brown and gray. Reminded me of the soiled wig Bart Simpson got for Christmas in his fantasy about juvenile hall in the Simpsons shoplifting episode.
So sad. So very sad.
posted by gompa at 10:13 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Huh! I never figured this would end up on the front page. This was the first run at something I've been thinking about doing for a while. I thought that I would let the carpets speak for themselves, but in in retrospect, I find myself wishing I had tagged date, time, hotel chain, etc.
I've never considered hotel carpet to be unfortunate (minus one or two, but that had nothing to do with the DESIGN), rather I am fascinated by the patterns from a design standpoint. They're just so bizzarre!
Activity will be slim for the next couple months, but will really pick up in the fall for any who are interested.
posted by TheCoug at 10:36 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
I've never considered hotel carpet to be unfortunate (minus one or two, but that had nothing to do with the DESIGN), rather I am fascinated by the patterns from a design standpoint. They're just so bizzarre!
Activity will be slim for the next couple months, but will really pick up in the fall for any who are interested.
posted by TheCoug at 10:36 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
I love some of these designs, but I am saddened that they are executed in pile (looks like it?) carpet. It's probably not the most evocative form of textile for these patterns.
posted by newg at 11:02 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by newg at 11:02 AM on June 26, 2012
Casino carpets are in a whole different league. They are made to amaze, dazzle, and be part of the brand. Hotel carpets are made to... well, I guess thats why I find them so interesting.
posted by TheCoug at 11:13 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by TheCoug at 11:13 AM on June 26, 2012
This might be considered one of the most recognizable carpets in cinema.
posted by crapmatic at 11:41 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by crapmatic at 11:41 AM on June 26, 2012
Previously: In Praise of the Sci-Fi Corridor
posted by marco_nj at 11:56 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by marco_nj at 11:56 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
"What is so unfortunate about them?"
It's a combination of the blood stain and that slight ridge that caused you to stumble and fling your just-filled ice-bucket ten feet into the face of the guy who recently caused that blood stain.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:02 PM on June 26, 2012
It's a combination of the blood stain and that slight ridge that caused you to stumble and fling your just-filled ice-bucket ten feet into the face of the guy who recently caused that blood stain.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:02 PM on June 26, 2012
Sweet merciful shit where in hell do designers FIND these carpets?
When I was a kid my best friend's dad owned a textile manufacturing company and I thought it was an interesting business; they made carpets, specifically this kind of super heavy duty industrial pile. Surprisingly, designers don't find these carpets: they are custom designed for the hotel chain. Apparently the the issue with hospitality carpeting is staining. The patterns help hide stains and wear. They also date really quickly, which I guess is good if you make hotel carpets.
Anyway, I remember very distinctly when that company got the contract for carpeting the Miami International terminal. It was like they'd won the lottery, so a big hotel chain must be a huge win. My friend and I met in that airport every summer on our way to scuba camp, never without saluting the carpet.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:25 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
When I was a kid my best friend's dad owned a textile manufacturing company and I thought it was an interesting business; they made carpets, specifically this kind of super heavy duty industrial pile. Surprisingly, designers don't find these carpets: they are custom designed for the hotel chain. Apparently the the issue with hospitality carpeting is staining. The patterns help hide stains and wear. They also date really quickly, which I guess is good if you make hotel carpets.
Anyway, I remember very distinctly when that company got the contract for carpeting the Miami International terminal. It was like they'd won the lottery, so a big hotel chain must be a huge win. My friend and I met in that airport every summer on our way to scuba camp, never without saluting the carpet.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:25 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
I read somewhere that the carpet in the corridors of some cruise ships are positioned so that all the fish are swimming downstream (or whatever) so that you can always figure out which way is fore and which is aft. That seems kind of smart, especially in those hallways of endless cabin doors.
posted by argonauta at 12:32 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by argonauta at 12:32 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
What struck me was that the walls are all similarly painted, too. Apparently yellowish is the hotel color of choice. ... I guess it's the same color as the walls in my apartment building, too. Hmm. Wonder what's up with that.
They say taupe is very soothing.
posted by jedicus at 1:35 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
They say taupe is very soothing.
posted by jedicus at 1:35 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
What struck me when scrolling through the carpets was the smell. Apparently there is very strong association in my mind between hotel carpeting of a certain flamboyance and slightly stale, heavily air-conditoned air with a tinge of mildew.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:10 PM on June 26, 2012
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:10 PM on June 26, 2012
Some of those are pretty weird, but the Gaylord Texan hotel & resort has the most obnoxious carpet I've ever seen in a hotel, hands down. That picture doesn't really do it justice, the colors are brighter and it's larger in scale than you'd expect.
posted by superna at 1:47 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by superna at 1:47 PM on June 27, 2012
I was going to suggest that someone needs to do this for Australian pub carpets, but on googling for a suitable example, it turns out that someone already has.
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 8:40 AM on June 28, 2012
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 8:40 AM on June 28, 2012
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posted by cortex at 9:01 AM on June 26, 2012 [5 favorites]