Premium e-commerce UX for a leader in luxury carpet industry
Andrija Prelec
Designing a premium e-commerce experience for a leader in luxury carpet industry: balancing editorial polish with a complex trade catalog
Overview
We partnered with Stark Carpet to redesign their digital experience across ecommerce, product discovery, and editorial content. The goal was to create a premium, clean, image-led website that feels like a high-end design magazine—while still working as a fast, intuitive webshop for interior designers and trade clients.
Months of research shaped every decision
This was not just a visual redesign. We spent months learning the industry from the inside out through stakeholder workshops, stakeholder interviews, user interviews with interior designers, and conversations with factory workers.
We needed to understand:
how carpets and rugs differ in product logic and buying behavior
how interior designers search, compare, and shortlist products
what details matter most to trade buyers
what end clients need before approving a purchase
how materials, measurements, lead times, customization, and quoting influence decisions
The Challenge
Stark Carpet needed a website that looked premium and editorial, but still performed like a modern ecommerce platform.
The experience had to balance two goals that often compete with each other:
showcase beautiful product imagery and brand storytelling
make a large, complex catalog feel fast, simple, and easy to use
A luxury brand experience with real ecommerce complexity
This project had to feel like a magazine, not a product warehouse—but still support serious trade workflows, technical product exploration, and quote-based purchasing.
Research and Discovery
Before designing, we immersed ourselves in Stark Carpet’s world.
We worked closely with stakeholders and users to understand the full ecosystem behind the business—from materials and manufacturing to product specification, trade sales, and regional customer expectations.
This research helped us go beyond surface-level ecommerce patterns and design an experience grounded in how this industry actually works.
Designing a Premium, Editorial Ecommerce Experience
We designed the site to feel refined, spacious, and image-led. Large photography, clean layouts, and restrained typography helped position Stark Carpet as a premium brand while keeping the interface elegant and easy to navigate.
Rather than overloading users with dense commerce patterns, we leaned into a more editorial look and feel—bringing together product storytelling and usability in a way that felt true to the brand.
Designed to feel like a luxury interior magazine
The visual direction focused on calm layouts, generous spacing, and product photography that lets carpets and rugs take center stage.
Navigation That Adapts to Region and User State
We designed multiple navigation systems based on regional needs and account state.
The experience adapted depending on whether users were browsing in the US, UK, or Europe, and whether they were logged in or browsing as guests. This gave Stark Carpet the flexibility to support different markets and user types while maintaining a consistent brand experience.
Product Detail Experiences Tailored to Different Product Types
Research showed that rugs and carpets are not explored—or purchased—in the same way. So instead of forcing both into a single template, we designed separate product experiences based on product logic.
This affected how users viewed product details, selected sizes, explored availability, and moved toward requesting a quote.
Rugs and broadloom carpets needed different UX
Different product categories required different buying flows, information structures, and decision points. Treating them the same would have created friction for users.
Rethinking Search Around How Designers Actually Search
Interior designers do not browse like casual online shoppers. They often search with intent, using very specific criteria such as color, material, style, collection, SKU, or product name.
Based on our interview findings, we designed a search experience that better reflects how professionals think and work. This made product discovery faster, more flexible, and better aligned with real trade workflows.
Simplifying Product Listing and Filter Complexity [6] [7] [8]
Stark Carpet's catalog includes a large number of products and advanced filtering possibilities. To keep the interface usable, we decided to show only the most commonly used filters upfront.
Additional advanced filters were grouped into a more structured popup experience, so users could still narrow results deeply without overwhelming the main listing interface.
Only the most-used filters stayed visible
This approach helped keep product listing pages clean and premium, while still giving power users the control they needed.
Designing Quote and Checkout Flows Around Real Buying Needs
Rugs and carpets had different checkout and quote-request experiences, so we needed to understand exactly what buyers should be asked—and when.
Through stakeholder interviews, we mapped the information that matters most during these flows, including product details, sizing, treatments, delivery-related choices, and other quote-specific requirements.
This allowed us to design quote experiences that felt guided, clear, and tailored to the realities of Stark Carpet’s business.
Supporting Brand Storytelling Beyond Commerce
In addition to ecommerce flows, we also designed editorial and storytelling moments that reinforce Stark Carpet’s premium positioning.
This included a polished visual timeline of the company’s history as well as an editorial, magazine-inspired blog article layout. These experiences helped bring more depth to the brand and created moments that felt rich and intentional, not purely transactional.
Commerce was only part of the experience
The redesign also created space for heritage, storytelling, and content that strengthens the brand beyond the product catalog.
Outcome
The result is a refined digital experience that brings together luxury branding, complex product logic, and intuitive ecommerce UX.
We helped Stark Carpet translate a highly specialized offline buying process into a digital experience that feels elegant, clear, and built for professionals.
Alongside the customer-facing website, we also designed a project management back-office tool for Stark Carpet’s internal teams.
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Designing the Back-Office Tool
Alongside the customer-facing website, we also designed a project management back-office tool for Stark Carpet’s internal teams.
The tool supported quotes, orders, product configuration, and document generation—covering the key operational workflows behind the storefront. Our goal was to make complex internal processes feel more organized, intuitive, and easy to scan, while still supporting the level of detail teams needed every day.
This made the back-office tool an important extension of the wider Stark Carpet ecosystem, helping connect the premium customer experience with the operational systems behind it.
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Posted Mar 26, 2026
Designing a premium e-commerce experience for a leader in luxury carpet industry: balancing editorial polish with a complex trade catalog
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