Every fall, I have a really nice man named Ken come in to completely strip, then re-polish, the vinyl floor tile in my kitchen. It is well worth it. Even using heavy duty equipment, it takes him several hours to do the floor. I think it is well worth the expense. Not only am I am getting too old to be down on my hands and knees doing this, he gets a much better shine than I ever did. So far, I know of three other readers who have used my floor — Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze — and I have photos of their kitchens, too.
I am pretty sure I spy with my little eye, Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze in Julie P.’s kitchen — uploaded last week as part of our “Finish What You Started” campaign. She gets supa-mega Gold Stars for her work, which she explains:
Kitchen undo almost finished. Cabinets stripped, wall paper off, new floor and counters. Still need to paint the trim. UGH! Before picture to follow.
– Julie P
Beautiful kitchen, Julie! Send me all your pics and your story, girl!
Janice used it in her retro kitchen renovation.
Meredith used it to replace the worn tile in her vintage kitchen.
I have had my Azrock Cortina floor for since 2006, and it looks as great as it did the day it was put in. I continue to be the #1 fan of this versatile, inexpensive, streaky retro-style, durable vinyl kitchen floor tile. This tile is $1.50 – $2.25/s.f. installed. See Autumn Haze and their other colors here.
-
- Want to read more stories about flooring options: See our navigation Kitchens / Flooring here.
Have any other readers put Azrock Cortina in their kitchens?
If so, send me a photo, and I will add it to this story. 🙂
Suzanne says
Hi, Dana–
I got my tile at Linoleum City, 4849 Santa Monica Bd., LA 90029. I also got some authentic `50s pink & black marbleized sheet linoleum for my bathroom. Go to REVA1040 on YouTube for pix of the bathroom. My kitchen floor is on this website. Good luck!
–Suzanne
Suzanne says
The streaky/speckled look is great if you don’t want to be scrubbing your floor every day. I wash my floor with cool white vinegar water, then take a disposable mop from the dollar store & some polish I got at the janitorial supply store. Quick & easy.
Dana says
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Azrock has discontinued the Cortina line! I am very upset, because my favorite sample so far is their Red Pepper. I am having trouble finding a good local vendor for these commercial tiles. They don’t seem to understand why I would like this in my house. 🙂
pam kueber says
As far as I know — it is still available. Insist!
Sarah says
I love this floor. I’m shopping around for vct and it’s so hard to tell what the tile will look like based on the tiny samples the flooring store has. I want the streaky look like you’ve got but am not sure about the color. Do all the tiles in the cortina collection have that streaky look or just autumn haze? I’m trying to avoid solid and speckled vct.
Judi William says
I just had ours pulled out! Oh dear….
Dai1955 says
Hi Pam
Well here I am in my 1955 18foot Terry Travel Trailer and although it’s beautifule here on the beach I’m inside my trailer putting in a new(yet vintage looking floor). I bought Marmolioum at Linolioum City. They sold them to me in 16 X16 so I cut them down to 8X8 plus I used up a box of 3X3 ’50s samples at the enterence. Nice from far but far from nice. I bought Fabo adhesive when I was in a Green store yesterday in Santa Barbara and boy does it work. I think my problem lays in when I was cutting them down I was off a bit here and there. Makes a hellofadifference! Oh well, I’d love to send a pic when I’m done.
Btw, how about an area on your fantastic site for 40’s, 50’s and 60’s trailers?
Suzanne says
The kitchen & adjacent laundry room floor in my 1941 house in Burbank is also Azrock. I chose red, white & black & had the installer put it in diagonally to make the space look larger, then had him do a double border, first red, then black. I wash all my floors (hardwood, Pergo, Azrock & linoleum) in a white vinegar/lukewarm water solution. I found some good polish at a janitorial supply store. I buy a cheap mop at the dollar store to apply it, & by the time I’m done, the mop is ready for the trash. There are a couple of pictures of my floor on the site. Look for “Suzanne’s Kitchen.” I’ll be happy to send more.
Dana says
Hi Suzanne, where did you buy your tiles? I have a 1958 Colonial Ranch in Van Nuys, and would like to find someone with experience installing VCT.
J D Log says
Hi Jordanna I am also in Australia checker board black and white is avaliable everywhere but there is a big variation in quality not sure if Azrock is avaliable in Australia but they are affiliated with Tarkett Group try this link they are distributed through Bunnings so that could be your best
http://www.tarkett.com/group/en/node/75
Also Armstrong is over here http://www.armstrong-aust.com.au
and Forbo http://www.forbo-flooring.com.au/Commercial/Products/Marmoleum/General-purpose-Linoleum/Marmoleum-Global-3/Artoleum-Piano/ their Artoleum Piano range looks good and Marmoleum dual is another option If Atomic Mother has some other options I would be interested in hearing I am still gutting out my granite kitchen and it looks like the walls need replastering plumbing and electrical relocated, so it will be a while before I get to the flooring
Nutmegger says
Hey All – Does anybody have a black & white checkerboard Azrock Cortina floor? I’d love to see it and to know which white you used. I think there’s just the one black. I have a 1950 kitchen in desperate need of a new floor. Cabinets are painted white (originally knotty pine, I am sure) and counters are white laminate. It’s a very sunny room so I’m thinking a cool palette would be better than warm. I’m not ready to take on cabinet painting yet and I don’t have a color scheme in mind (only been here 3 months), so b&w for the floor seems like a good “neutral.” And BTW, apart from the infrequent heavy-equipment treatment, is this floor easy to keep looking good?
pam kueber says
I have done several stories on black and white kitchen flooring. See my category Kitchens/Flooring — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/flooring/ see in particular story and Black and White Resilient, to start
Philip M says
Pam:
I have a kitchen installed in 1988 and I love it! I know it’s not a 50s kitchen, but back in 1991 it’s the first thing I fell in love with when I viewed the house.
The problem is that the off white GE Permatuf dishwasher has not worked in 10 years, and I’ve always wanted it to work again. It might not exactly be 50’s design, but it does belong to the overall installation.
I have no idea what could be wrong, or how to fix it, or who to find to make repairs. But I know that other readers have repaired very old, vintage appliances to make them work and look new again.
My GE Range that belongs to the kitchen installation also needs to be dismantled and thoroughly cleaned. But I don’t know where to start to dismantle the top with the clock, or how to remove the oven door.
Could you or your readers please direct me to literature, websites, individuals or any source that could help me? I live in Oakland County, MI.
In closing, I want to tell you that I love your site, and I’m happy that there is a forum for people who care about mid-century 50’s design.
Philip
pam kueber says
hi Philip and welcome. we have several stories on this topic. check my category: Kitchens/Appliances. good luck