Monday, April 26, 2010

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.

24 comments:

  1. You should head directly over to Mrs.Blandings, she did just something like that!!!
    Love classic linoleum!

    XX
    Victoria

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  2. Linoleum brings out the atavistic housewife in me - the one with the cross-over pinny, bucket and scrubbing brush. These are far more elegant solutions than the lino I trampled under foot without any respect in my childhood. I'd go with that star-shape myself. Hang the expense!

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  3. Yes, it seems Lino got a bad rap by being used badly. Creativity is key-Marjorie Merriweather Post kitchen has divine patterns on lino.It was inspired. pgt

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  4. I had a real linoleum floor once in a kitchen - it was lovely, but EXTREMELY difficult to maintain!
    It doesn't wash like normal floors. maybe it was a bad idea for the kitchen ( though classic? ). Speak to others that have had them and find out first : )

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  5. It's so hard to grow older sometimes. I've ripped up so much linoleum over the years to replace it with "something better". As they say, what's old is new again!
    Clearly styles rotate in and out. Have fun with this "new" idea, Jennifer. I know you can give it new life!

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  6. Love it! We ordered ours from ifloor.com which came highly recommended and was fantastic!

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  7. I had marmoleum in my kitchen in my bungalow. It was sage green and cream checkerboard. It was fantastic! Images Floor Store in Atlanta over on Piedmont installed it for me. They are gone now though. Strathmore floors can install it. Marmoleum feels warm to bare feet (nice in winter) and things don't break when they hit the floor. I highly recommend it. It's less expensive than tile flooring. Jennifer call me if you're going to install it - I have lots of good tips for you.
    Helen

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  8. When I was floor shopping a couple of years ago I saw that Armstrong had a lot of choices in linoleum patterns. I love the star pattern for an entryway. I don't think it was terribly expensive-especially if the space is small.

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  9. i'll email you the picture of the linoleum floor i took at griffith observatory in los angeles in februrary. good looking stuff.

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  10. We are on the same page today. I just know that somewhere there is someone who would still do this sort of work. You'll start a trend.

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  11. I'm glad to see this post----linoleum, marmoleum---it's all great, design versatile, and often actually edgier and more interesting than so many the overwrought floorings that have typified the last decade---god save me from some of them.

    As a child, our little local library had a linoleum floor, marbleized with shiny black borders, and an elegant inlaid compass rose in the center, in front of the circulation desk. When the library was remodeled, and people were surveyed for things they liked, the compass rose was high on the list. When remodeled, it was done in granite, and it just wasn't the same. Chic is always better if it's expensive, n'est ce pas?

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  12. Never thought I would use "linoleum" and "stylish" in the same sentence, but ...

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  13. I have a classmate who spent the better part of last summer restoring a midcentury linoleum tile floor--so us historic preservation students are paying attention!

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  14. I have always felt the same way about linoleum and have never used it. It can be so stylish if done correctly.

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  15. You have the most interesting articles. Might get me to change my mind on linoleum. Just posted about my very old house in Sweden where I tore out rooms and rooms of bad plastic linoleum flooring from the 80's. Never knew it once was chic like that!

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  16. I met a guy here who was quite well known for doing that. An artist shown frequently at The Walker, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and select galleries, he also did a lot of commercial work. I just googled him and lo and behold he has a site; www.brianjonfoster.com. You've just got to go to his site and see his work! I recall his fascination with vintage linoleum and the fact that asbestos or no, he had quite a collection of patterns that he just couldn't part with! Fantastic post.

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  17. I love linonleum! We had to get new flooring in our small kitchen and got marmoleum. Looks very vintage, holds up great and mixes right in with the original tile!

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  18. Jennifer, I think you might produce favorable results with Marmoleum. Also, take a look at Amtico if the modular unit could produce a pattern you like. Both materials are relatively easy to cut. You just need a design and some muscle.

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  19. I put Marmoleum in my kitchen about two years ago. I have a small kitchen in a 1930s house. It looks perfect, and the marbleized pattern is very forgiving. My kids also love it because it feels great under bare feet. I absolutely recommend this underappreciated flooring!

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  20. I love linoleum, too! I read a great article about it in This Old House magazine several years ago; I found it online for you and your readers in case anyone's interested: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,202857,00.html. So many people our age think linoleum is that nasty vinyl stuff from the 1970s and 1980s; I didn't know any better until I saw the This Old House article. Linoleum has fabulous design possibilities; I like your inlaid border idea. I always liked the idea of doing a folksy quilt block pattern in bold colors for a kitchen floor in a mountain home. True linoleum is made from all-natural materials, is considered an environmentally-friendly flooring option, and comes in rich, vivid colors that were unthinkable back in the days of Fred and Ginger, and it's very durable. What's not to love?

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  21. Just saw two gorgeous, original linoleum floors on a house tour today - black with a grey ribbon border and a constellation pattern similar to yours. Almost 80 years after they were installed they still look gorgeous. I'm sold on it.

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  22. Black with grey ribbon border and a constellation pattern?? I'd be in heaven!

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  23. They were gorgeous. If I ever get back and can snap photos, I'll send them so you can see. I'm still stunned.

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