Thanks to reader Nancy, who spotted this new flooring alternative for potential use by Retro Renovators. It’s Karndean’s “Michelangelo Mosaic” — 12″ vinyl tile squares that mimic random pattern mosaic floor tiles.
Update: Since this story was first published in 2012, this flooring looks like it has been continued. Boo hoo, because it sure was good looking. I will keep this story up for the record.
The design comes in five colors — a lovely blue (same as my 2012 color of the year, Rimini Bitossi Blue)… an aqua/green… brown… beige… and black. This particular mosaic tile floor design has a 1960s and beyond look to me. Read on for more photos and information about this product from Karndean–>
First, a bit of the original note from Nancy:
Hi Pam,
I don’t know if you’ve seen this flooring from Karndean, so here it is… I think it has that late 50’s Roman look, don’t you? The Venetian Blue has a nice aqua tone to it.
Yup, Nancy, I agree. So I reached out to Karndean for more info. Their marketing department was super duper responsive and sent me several images to feature on the blog, along with the following, additional information. They are also sending samples for me to take a look at, and I will update this story when I get them. Update: The samples came — and I live them a lot! Karndean wrote:
Karndean Designflooring is a manufacturer of vinyl flooring and all of our products come in individual planks or tiles. Our Italian Mosiac product is a registered emboss product. A registered finish to our products means a more realistic look and an outstanding realism to the floor.
Here are the specs: Size of the tile is 12″ x12″. The wear layer on this product is 2.5mm. There is no bevel on the edges. There are 36 sq. ft per box of the product.
[I asked for cost info, here is what Karndean said:] In terms of cost, I really can’t give you a solid figure — we sell to retailers who then set their own prices. And depending on the quantity they buy from us, if they are a displaying dealer, etc., determines the cost they would set. Again, the individual retailer would set the price for the customer.
Also, as you can see from the attached photo (above), you can add some really neat borders to this floor to really customize it. We actually even have a dolphin medallion to inset in the Italian mosiac using MX97 and MX98 (the blue mosaic colors). There are quite a few grout strips and borders available for this floor.
For your readers, they can use our Find a Retailer tool to see where they can buy the products.
Thanks, Karndean, and thanks again, Nancy. Keep those tips coming, readers, it is so wonderful that you take the time to share!