Retro Renovation

Remodel & decorate in Mid Century Style

Home / Kitchen / Kitchen Flooring

Linen- and terrazzo-look vinyl sheet flooring in aqua and other neutrals

pam kueber - Updated: August 18, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

turquoise and pink kitchen mood boardkitchen mood board

Nancy of the pink poodle pink bathroom we made famous in the New York Times is planning some updates to her midcentury kitchen — that’s her psample board above, so pretty. In the center are the samples of Karndean mosaic style vinyl floor tiles that I featured several weeks ago, when she first sent me the tip. My Karndean samples showed up in the mail last week, and these pretties get my stamp of approval. I kind of LOVE them; if you are a doing a 60s or 70s style home, and floor tiles (rather than sheet flooring) is okay with you, I say for sure give them a look! Now, I’m following up on another of Nancy’s flooring finds: That yummy aqua linen-look sheet flooring  in the top left of her photo and shown in my thumbail to the right. It’s part of the (new?) Adobe collection of commercial flooring by Armstrong (update – link now gone)– it’s a vinyl composite sheet flooring that comes in 12′ widths — and it’s available in a number of other colors, low-chroma / washed-out neutrals but okay, as well.
Update ugh, since this story was first published most of these products have been discontinued. I’ll leave this story up, because, alas, some of these were so pretty. 

These companies introduce new flooring all the time … it’s hard for me to keep up with … so I greatly appreciate your tips. My key advice when start your search: Look through everything we’ve identified in my Kitchens / Flooring category … then, go out looking online yourself … and when it comes to vinyls, get over to the Commercial section (not just the Homeowner section) too. That’s where all the good stuff for us, is. Added bonuses: It’s commercial — so it’s going to last a long long time… likely going to last longer than you want it to… you’ll be sick of it before it wears out… And, I tend to believe the prices for this improved level of quality are not commensurately higher, because commercial buyers are the toughest negotiators out there. Shop around, though.

armstrong flooringcorlon flooringNancy also is looking at the white pickled oak finish floaking floor from Traffic Master and at a design called Corlon that mimics terrazzo. The pinkish tile in her top photo is Medintone. Here’s what she said about prices she’s been quoted, along with some other details:
The Armstrong “Rough Linen” in Dusty Aqua would cost around $1,400 to install in a 12 x 12 kitchen (including labor and new sub-floor). The width is 12 feet, so it has the advantage of not having a seam.
 
The TrafficMaster Allure Plank in Coventry Oak is appealing because it is “floating”, so you can install it yourself, over a less than perfect sub-floor.The cost of materials for 12 x 12 feet is about $300.
I got the fabric probably 15 years ago at a Humane Society Thrift Shop. The selvedge reads, “Everglaze – Washable – Vat Colors”.
 
I got a few samples of Armstrong Connection Corlon, which has a terrazzo look to it. The original Armstrong Corlon was introduced in the late 1950’s, and looked like little tic-tacs entombed under a clear top coating. The new stuff looks like rock chips – more natural. I’m liking the ‘Ocean Green’. The colors are very subtle, so anyone considering it will need to look at real samples before deciding on a color.
 
Decisions, decisions!
I love all of it, Nancy — yikes, especially that vintage fabric with its cute faux bois scallop trim saved for 15 years! — I can’t wait to see what you do with your kitchen!
 
Links:

Reader Interactions

Comments are closed. 

43 comments

Comments

  1. Vintigchik-Karen says

    Hey Pam, did Nancy ever finish her kitchen? We’re building an a-frame house soon and are thinking of this sample board as inspiration. I’d love to see a follow up story on this. Love love love this blog. It’s been a part of my daily life for probably a decade! Thanks!

    • Pam Kueber says

      I don’t see that we ever did a followup story. She says in a comment elsewhere that she went with Armstrong Commercial Connection Corlon sheet flooring (in Ocean Green). But I don’t think I have any photos. Thanks for sending the love love love! 🙂