Retro Renovation» flooring

Kitchen flooring with retro appeal: Azrock VL-130 Classic Blue Gray vinyl tile

pam kueber — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:30:58 +0000

We are not accustomed, I think, to seeing vinyl tile kitchen floors that *read* dark and streaky and complex. For example, there were a number of comments about the floor in the fantastic 1956 Tennessee time capsule kitchen (at right) – readers were kind of startled at the drama in that floor. I’ve been looking at vintage interiors for so long, though, that my *startled* almost immediately turns to *luv,* because I like to be shaken out of what is customary and accepted today. In this same vein, I love the floors that Brian and Keri chose for their retro kitchen update:

Azrock VL-130 vinyl composite tiles in classic blue gray.

The rest of the kitchen is so… graphic. This floor works, just like the vintage resilient tiles in the time capsule kitchen. That Brian and Keri — who both work in the visual arts — have a good eye — as they should!

Azrock VL is available in five colors. Note: I used Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze in my kitchen.)

Green

Blue-Gray -- the color that Brian and Keri used

Tan

White

Gray

Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze flooring in four kitchens — any more of you out there? Every fall, I have a really nice man named Ken...
For 50s style flooring, my favorite choice is Azrock Cortina #423 Forced to make final decisions about my kitchen reno,...
Vinyl sheet flooring with a mosaic tile look: Earthscapes Rivulet Marsha took inspiration from the blog and found this vinyl...

Ceramic floor tile that looks like slate — including small random mosaics in 8 colors

pam kueber — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:30:14 +0000

Thanks to reader Tami, who tipped me to the new line of ceramic tiles by Daltile that look like slate. This new line for sure its playing up the midcentury cues. For example: It includes large tiles that can be arranged in a random fashion to look like the real deal random color Vermont Slate. See Cindy’s outdoor patio, she used this real slate. If you are interested in creating this larger-scale floor, it pays to comparison shop between the ceramic and the real-deal slate. The true slate is pretty inexpensive — I’m guessing it will be cheaper (and more authentic) to use that the Daltile.

What really excites me about this new line are the small random mosaics. I don’t think you can get small random slate like this, so if you want this look, I’m betting that this Daltile line is the way to go. I love small random mosaics for mid mod bathrooms. In pastel porcelains, this design was popular from the 1940s on. These slate colors, I’d say, are appropriate for a 1970s-style floor. The 1970s was all about tile — and earth tones like these in particular. Hey, I’m liking tile that looks like stone; mark this day on the calendar! Above: Daltile’s Random Block Mosaic in Indian Red (which reminds me of the colors in the famous Armstrong #5352) and Egyptian Gold.

Above: Brazil Green.

Above: Asian Black.

Above: Persian Gold.

Above: Moroccan Brown.

Above: Tuscan Blue.

Above: English Gray.

Links:

Daltile small mosaics in 41 colors — including perfect 1970s avocado, orange & brown I went surfing on the Daltile and American Olean websites...
Cindy’s midcentury modern porch remodel, including traditional random color slate The amazing Cindy is at it again. We’ve seen her house,...
Random multi-color slate flooring — an authentic mid-century choice Jeff recently reminded us that random multi-color slate flooring is...

Parquet flooring for a ranch house? Yes — an “authentic” top-of-the-line choice

pam kueber — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:50:48 +0000

Lynn recently bought a 1960 ranch house and asked me whether I thought her wood parquet floors (small photo to the right) were original. Almost without a doubt I answer: Yes. The lead photo above is my dining room floor. This floor is original to my 1951 colonial-modern ranch. The parquets are each 12″ wide. They are made from fullsize pieces of wood flooring — this is not a thin veneer. In fact, somewhere in my travels I have heard that parquet flooring like mine was more expensive to purchase and install than the more common long runs of oak tongue-in-groove flooring. Wood parquet was more complicated, more fussy, and therefore, more expensive. The adjacent, step-down living room, by the way, got wall-to-wall carpet.

How about another example of hardwood parquet? The photo above is from the ravishing Tennessee time capsule house (see the amazing kitchens and bathrooms). This floor was installed in 1956.

Here is the foyer of the same house. We have explored recently what color stain is most appropriate for your midcentury hardwood floors — the mass, we believe, were done in “natural”, like mine. But it’s also great to see this darker stain. It is so rich and beautiful. Note, when I talked to the owner of this house who did the 1956 restoration, Mrs. Starling Davis, she explained that in 1956 “everyone was putting carpet” into the principal living spaces of their homes. This dovetails exactly with what we learned from Emily Morrow of Shaw Floors, when we learned about the history of wall-to-wall carpeting. This 1956 time capsule house was decorated top-of-the-line back 55 years ago. Parquet was used in key, “show off” places — the dining room and foyer — that functionally, could not be carpeted. Hence, I deduce: Wood parquet flooring was not only original and appropriate to midcentury homes, it was a top-of-the-line flooring choice.

Random multi-color slate flooring — an authentic mid-century choice Jeff recently reminded us that random multi-color slate flooring is...
For 50s style flooring, my favorite choice is Azrock Cortina #423 Forced to make final decisions about my kitchen reno,...
Retro flooring in a “colonial brick” style – a wonderful choice from Armstrong “Retro flooring” is one of the top search terms for...