When I wrote about a 1970s-look flooring possibility yesterday, reader Tarquin piped up with the fabulous option: Armstrong’s Royelle Rock Hill Stone 12′ vinyl sheet flooring. Indeed, it has quite the retro look — about as close to a 1960s or 1970s vinyl sheet design as I think I’ve seen. I need to see it in person — but I love the look.
And the coloring of this flooring is “warm” — not “cold”, hooray! So much of the flooring being sold today reads cold — and who wants cold feet!
Tarquin wrote:
I always say the hardest finds when creating a 70’s house are flooring and plastic plants. The colors in these vinyls might not be there, but it’s SOMETHING close to what they looked like. Lowes sells a spot on vinyl #16191. It’s lowbrow, but its authentic and it works.
Above: Armstrong flooring from 1963, from a catalog in my collection. The Royelle Rock Hill Stone reminds me of some of these “pebbled” designs. Back in the day, I think they had metallics in there too. I’m not sure if the Royelle Rock Hill Stone is embossed like the oldies either.
Nice find — thank you so much, Tarquin!
Link love:
Julie Christensen Gallardo says
We used to have marble floor in our house just like that stone. It was cold even in the Summer.
Pam Kueber says
Yes, ceramic tile, marble, and stone floors are notoriously cold — and can be hard on the back. The coldness can be a plus depending on your climate…
Erik says
I put this stuff down on the floor of my 1970 Road Runner travel trailer when it was redone. Looks ok, but it is delicate.
Kay Goolsby says
I would like to see if there any companies that sell the kitchen carpet that was available in the 70’s. I do like the pictures of the sheet flooring shown here though.
Ethan says
I put some flooring similar to this in my kitchen. It didn’t last long though. My dogs claws started putting holes and cuts in it. After a year and half we replaced it with a higher quality vinyl flooring that seems to be holding better.
Sarah says
How funny… we just installed this exact sheet flooring in our living and dining rooms earlier this year (1961 mid century ranch). We had disgusting carpet and senior dogs that were only making it more disgusting. My husband is on the frugal side and he’s also a Geologist so it wasn’t hard to talk him into this option. It’s only temporary (we’re adding red oak hardwoods to match the bedrooms once we no longer have dogs) and we really don’t “live in” these rooms right now, so they don’t take too much traffic but… it’s held up spectacularly. It makes cleaning up dog messes a breeze and it doesn’t soak up smells the way carpet does. We didn’t even adhere it to the floor too carefully, since we wanted the quickest application. We used double sided tape for flooring, going around the perimeter, with sporadic connecting rows across the room as well. I’m double pleased with my choice to see it featured here! If you want to see it in a real house, here are some photos: https://imgur.com/a/xZ3DoJK.
Ann Fairfield says
Very nice looking in your application. Love how it looks in your house!
Sarah says
Thanks! We were pleasantly surprised.
dkzody says
My parents put this flooring in our entire farm house in 1963 when they had a really good crop. It was very expensive but well worth it as it didn’t show the dirt and it was easy to clean. My mother loved it.
Ranger Smith says
Yep, this is what we had and yes, some of it had “glitter” in it. In fact, I think my parents’ bathroom still has it.
Tarquin says
Hi Pam. When I was in Lowes this was rolled in a sheet. I didnt see the tiles. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it because, I don’t see many retro options out there. This immediately reminded me of builder’s flooring. When a house was built they would use this in the kitchen and bathrooms and then people covered over it, but some people kept it. It looks even better in person than in the photo. It seems from the reviews that people who installed it themselves had issues, because it’s not the best quality. The ones who had it professionally installed seem to love it. If I get it, I will keep you posted. Home Depot now has some fantastic retro tile options online. They even have the blue pool tile with gold veins. That would make a bathroom look amazing.
Pam Kueber says
Thanks, Tarquin!
Robin, WA says
I’ve been looking for a sheet vinyl in a pebble design forever. I’d prefer the pebbles to be smaller and the colorway to be blueish green. I’ve seen what I’m looking for in commercial bathrooms so it’s available somewhere, I just can’t seem to find it.
Pam Kueber says
Here’s a list of potential manufacturers I put together; sounds like you need to head to the Commercial sections of their websites… https://retrorenovation.com/2015/02/10/23-companies-flooring-cork-linoleum-midcentury-house/
Jeff H says
Robin, we used this in one of our baths, and it might work for you. Looks like some of the colors could be a fit. The material is commercial-grade, nice underfoot, and has a subtle non-slip texture:
https://www.manningtoncommercial.com/products/hard-surface/slip-retardant/mannington-assurance-ii/?color=3415775c-352a-4df0-ae97-d9eea75bd4d4
This Armstrong line looks super nice though.
Evelyn says
Absolutely smashing color choices. I think I may investigate commercial options for our next floor.
Cindy says
Wish I could get the star-ray pattern!
I checked the Lowe’s site and unfortunately the Royelle has pretty terrible ratings. One reviewer said it worked great for lining cabinets though!
Pam Kueber says
Order a sample – that’s what I’d do!
Karen S says
I got a sample from Lowe’s when I was thinking about using it in my kitchen. It’s pretty thin and I don’t think it would hold up in a high traffic area though it would probably be alright for a low traffic room.