hen your product is literally as flat as Kansas, how do you give it shape and make it intriguing enough to suck in hundreds of passersby? That’s the challenge Wetherill Park, Australia-based Forbo Floorcoverings Pty. Ltd. faced when it began planning an exhibit for Interior DesignEX, a highly competitive commercial- and residential-design show held in Melbourne, Australia.

The company manufactures environmentally friendly linoleum and other flooring products for commercial and residential uses, but rather than keeping its product underfoot, Forbo wanted to keep it top of mind. So the company teamed up with Exponential Design Pty. Ltd. of Richmond, Australia, to create an amusing linoleum oasis.

The booth’s back linoleum-covered wall set an Emerald City-esque scene, with a rich blue sky, a cheery rainbow, rolling green hills, and a yellow brick — er, black linoleum — road disappearing into the horizon.Opposite the back wall was a Forbo forest any woodland creature would be proud to call home — nine poles wrapped in shades of brown and blue linoleum, each stamped with the Forbo logo.

But the undeniable focal point of the exhibit was a linoleum-covered Airstream-inspired “trailer” parked between the linoleum trees and the back wall. “If I came across this on the show floor, there’s no way it wouldn’t draw me in to see, touch, and explore the space,” one judge said.

According to Andrew Spinks, the exhibit’s designer, the retro caravan added a sense of playfulness, while the interior served as an impromptu meeting area. Product catalogs were stored in a retaining wall built out of — you guessed it — linoleum.

One look at the linoleum-clad exhibit and attendees could no doubt see the Forbo forest for the trees.e