Longing for Linoleum

I'm dying (seriously, dying!) to use linoleum somewhere in my condo. But first, let's get something straight. When I say linoleum, I do not mean that cheap vinyl stuff that graced the kitchen floor of your first post-college apartment. I want honest to goodness linoleum. And, I want to have the linoleum cut to create an interesting pattern. If you look at old photos from the 1930s and 40s, you'll find the greatest linoleum floors in all kinds of colors and patterns. There were reds, grays, blues, and yellows. Greek key borders. Inlaid stars. Geometric patterns.

So where would my linoleum floor go? I've got two options: my entryway or my kitchen. Seeing that my entryway is small, perhaps that is where it will go. It would be a vast improvement over the ceramic tile that's there now. And I would probably go with a black and cream linoleum. You just can't beat those neutrals. And the design? Ah, that's the hard one to nail down.

Now, if this was a really proper post, I would have researched all of the current offerings in the world of linoleum (Marmoleum, anyone?), figured out how expensive a project like this might cost, and determined how difficult it would be to find someone who could actually execute it. But I didn't. And that might be a good thing because I haven't found anything to dash my hopes to someday have my neat linoleum floor.


A c. 1930 master suite dressing room originally decorated by Thedlow. With a floor like that, no wonder the rest of the room is understated (understated in a chic way, of course.)


William Pahlmann decorated this model room for Lord & Taylor with a geometric linoleum floor.


In the early 1940s, House & Garden suggested using all kinds of linoleum cutouts to create unusual floors, including this constellation design. This would not be feasible today, but the constellation idea might be great for painted floors.


I can't confirm if this floor is linoleum or some other kind of composite, but the simple outlined design might be an option for my entryway.