Is the diversity of flooring choices starting to improve? It seems to me that these days, I’m seeing more than just flat gray stone after flat beige stone after flat greige stone flooring options pop up in manufacturers’ lineups. Like: This 1970s flooring design from Tarkett — okay, it’s stones in stones, but I recollect that this is what a lot of 1970s flooring and even mid-to-late 1960s flooring looked like. Above: Tarkett Mexican Agate Blue.
I recall that some 1970s flooring had this look
Above: Tarkett Mexican Agate Aztec Bronze. It’s nice to to have the two colorways — the Aztec Bronze provides a good option if you want to work within the cream/beige/gold and warm gray families. The other, the Blue, offers fans of cooler gray walls a complementary option, and I love that pop of … what will I call it: azure.
There’s even a room shot. Note: The 1970s were very brown. These walls aren’t quite brown — I’d say they have a golden or copper cast — gold walls were all the rage in the 1990s. I like gold walls.
You know I have a sweet spot for stone-look vinyl sheet flooring. I like its quiet movement — the fact it has pattern, but pattern that does not take over a room. There’s just something… primal, perhaps… about walking on stones, albeit faux, like this that is almost the very definition of providing ‘visual gravity.’
Another floor, featured in the past, that is one of my favorites for a mid-to-late 1960s flooring heading into 1970s flooring is Karndean’s Michelangelo. It comes in five colorways, including some true color-colors, and is available as a tile (rather than as sheet). Jessica installed the blue colorway in her kitchen here.
Thank you for featuring this! Please more 1970’s!
My husband and I are always looking for remodeling products for our home built in 1975 in Houston.
We are currently looking for the solid wood panels that are in our home. The previous owner took one out and put in a door to the back yard. Very awkward location and obviously an “add-on”. If you or any of your subscribers know of a company please let me know.
I can provide pictures of what we are looking for if there is a link.
Actually you’re both right! Vinyl might have been available but our 1st house in 1975 had Armstrong’s classic 5352 in linoleum, and yes we did get sick of stripping and waxing! Our 2nd house in 1990 also had 5352, but in their Shinyl-Vinyl line, a premium product. Same pattern as the original but in a no-wax vinyl and a more pebbly surface, not smooth like the linoleum. My Aunt’s house built in 1956 also had the original 5352 linoleum, it was our inspiration to use it. Nowadays we’d take it either way, come on Armstrong bring it back!
BTW we built both the 1975 and 1990 houses new. The builder’s selection on the 1st house was limited to a certain selection so in ’75 both linoleum and vinyl versions may have been available, but we were limited to a lower priced flooring. It was still available by order from Armstrong from the flooring dealer, at least, but may have been out of production, it was a very popular choice and a lot was made no doubt, so some may have still been lying around in warehouses!
Ooooooooh, 5352 we love you.
I had Hopalong Cassity linoleum in my bedroom when little up to 1962 when my parents got rid of all the linoleum thru out the house since it had black patches where turning feet had ground away the top printed cover and us kids wouldn’t reset the small throw rugs that covered those after we kicked them away. They replaced it using the VA tile squares that had the color and design all the way thru the vinyl which made wear less obvious plus individual squares could be replaced after getting mangled up. One could get 6′ wide sheet commercial vinyl that was the same way but it was rather expensive. The 12′ wide sheet vinyl came out later in the 60’s and was less expensive since the pattern was printed on paper covered with a thick clear vinyl for protection. The early 12′ stuff wore like iron so they began making it cheaper along with lowering it’s price. The cheap vinyl was usually what I found on top of stone and Moorish patterns. Figured the homeowners were told by the realtors to cover that up before putting the house on the market.
All this talk of flooring makes me remember the Mop & Glow commercials. The lady in the kitchen simply squirted some Mop & Glow on the floor, mopped & by the end of thirty seconds the kitchen floor looked like a sheet of glass.
I love those colorful rock floors! xoxox
Yes, Mop & Glow! I am quite sure I used plenty of that over the years – as a youngster thru teen years I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms every Saturday morning!
If you are a fan of “Men” you might remember Don winning a Cleo award for his commercial for a mop and glow version of a product that had a boy under the kitchen table while his mother used the product.
“Hop-along Cassidy flooring???” – HaHaHa, that’s funny. Someone is actually selling it NOW on Ebay for $360. Hurry & get it while it’s still there. This is a rare find, for sure!!
Boy that brings back memories put hundreds of yards of that in
My Moorish flooring is from 1974 or 75, installed at the entry so has had 44+ years of use and abuse. The avocado colors are still fresh and show no signs of traffic patterns.
My kitchen has the stone-in-stone you’ve shown here, but it’s yellow/gold. It’s supposed to coordinate with the yellow leatherlook formica counters.
Good thing I like yellow kitchens. 🙂