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debrak_2008_gw

Look at old lino we found during demo, what year is this?

debrak_2008
11 years ago

We found this old flooring during our demo. It was on top of the original hardwood.

This one is a little yellowed.

Backing of floor.

First is this real linoleum?

Any idea what year it is from? House built 1926 and it appears to be the 2nd kitchen floor.

Would you use this as your inspiration piece for your kitchen? We love the colors.

Thanks for any info or ideas!

Comments (25)

  • palimpsest
    11 years ago

    I think it is probably from the original period of the house.

  • TxMarti
    11 years ago

    I bet that made a pretty kitchen.

  • debrak_2008
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Pal, so you think maybe it was the original floor from 1926? We could not tell if the hardwood was actually used as the floor or not. So maybe the hardwood was just the subfloor and they put this linoleum down? The original owners/builders sold the house in 1930 so trying to determine if it was the 1st or 2nd owner who laid this floor. Just being curious.

    We think it is really cool. Plan to clean up the best piece as much as we can and frame it. Thinking of using this as our inspiration piece for the kitchen as we are having some trouble with colors.

  • Bunny
    11 years ago

    What was on top of the linoleum? I think it's a really sweet idea to frame a piece so your house can remember the days of its youth.

  • joyce_6333
    11 years ago

    The attic in our 1916 Arts & Crafts house had a similar floor. I'm sure it was original. So I'm betting yours is original, too.

  • momfromthenorth
    11 years ago

    I don't know why my posts aren't showing up but are you sure that it doesn't have any asbestos in it? That would be the first thing to check out.

  • deedles
    11 years ago

    Nice!! Gosh, I wish they still made beautiful patterns like that old stuff.

    Framing it is a great idea!

  • schoolhouse_gw
    11 years ago

    Would the design be considered Art Deco? I like it, too; as far as an inspiration (color-wise) for your new kitchen, I like that also but exactly how would you incorporate them?

    I tore up all the old linoleum in my kitchen after I moved in, to bring back the original wooden schoolhouse floor. Wish I would have saved a piece as I can not recall what it looked like now. :( There still is old linoleum in my closet off the livingroom, I just went and snapped a pic. There are places that are much nicer but that closet is packed and this is the best I could do. :)

  • rosie
    11 years ago

    Wow. 1920s came to mind immediately. That was an adventurous era, but apparently it can be even older.

    I also keep wishing some of these would be brought back. Decades ago a friend of my MIL's (both very elegant ladies) found some old roles of a Persian carpet pattern in deep reds, golds, black etc. and put that in her Beverly Hills apartment kitchen--complete with borders. The floor was an event, so everything else was very simple, although I don't remember what color the paint was. I've watched for it ever since.

  • Circus Peanut
    11 years ago

    To me the geometrical accents say 20's and the scroll-y fan says early 30's, so likely it was laid down by the first owners. Hardwood floors probably didn't count as as sanitary enough on their own without a scrubbable floor covering, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were original and the hardwood was never really 'used' as such.

  • jakabedy
    11 years ago

    In that era, the kitchen wasn't meant to have hardwoods. The wood in your kitchen was likely meant to be a subfloor (probably doesn't match the rest of the house, right?) and the linoleum is likely original. I love it.

  • allison0704
    11 years ago

    Would have been a cool floor!

  • debrak_2008
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Wow, went for a bike ride and came back to find all these responses.

    The hardwood under the lino was only 1/4" thick so DH thinks it was a sub floor but it is exactly the same as the rest of house (southern yellow pine) just thinner.

    On top of this floor was multiple layers of plywood, black felt paper, a green and yellow checker board floor, a 1970s vinyl, another sub floor, another vinyl. Not sure of the exact order but something like that.

    Part of our confusion is we can't determine if the kitchen area is part of the original construction or added on later. The woodwork in the kitchen matches the rest of the house as does that yellow pine subfloor. Can't check any records as this house never had any building permits until we came along. So it is very confusing.

    If there was any asbethos in the mutiple layers its all gone now.

    Thank you all for the photo and all the comments and info. Can't wait to share with DH.

    As for being an inspiration piece.... the colors are black, red, and (bluish) grays. We have all black appliances Cabinets are cherry with bordeaux stain (red), The grays look a little like the bianco romano granite sample we have. Instead of bluish grays though, I would like to lean more to green or violet gray for the wall color and backsplash.

    If you saw my posts on the decor forum you know I'm color challenged.

    Any thoughts are appreciated!

  • marcolo
    11 years ago

    It's a real tragedy that none of us who want to put linoleum in our houses today can get anything that looks like that anymore.

  • mrsmortarmixer
    11 years ago

    I'm in the same boat marcolo, been looking for a vintage inspired linoleum for the pantry. I can't find it.

  • emagineer
    11 years ago

    What a wonderful inspiration. I love that you are going to frame this. And, as others have mentioned, whatever happened to "real" design like this?

    Can you go into tax or sale records and find out who owned the house originally? I am able to do this for mine. And then try some searches on the names. Also, some of the homes of this era are on library databases which you can access from you PC. Somewhere you may come across the builder/architect name during your remodel. That would be a wonderful find.

  • debrak_2008
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I must say it was my DH who had the idea for framing the lino.

    I have done some research and this is what I can find. The house was built by a man with help from his father. I'm sure no architect and probably no blueprints. I spoke to a spouse of a child who lived here. Not much info on the actual house. The 1st family sold the house in 1930.
    The man signed a beam under the front porch which is neat. I have a photo of the Mrs. but not at our house. I checked with the town once but they said back then this area was the "boondocks" and no records were really kept. They did have a photo from the 1950s when the town decided to take a photo of every house in the town. I have a copy of it that I will also frame.

    When the house is done I may try to find some of the family and see if they want to see the house. Since they only lived here 4 years and most of the original occupants have passed away. I'm not sure the next generation would care. Appears they moved to a small city nearby for a better job.

    You can tell they built the house with care as it is very solid and even has a poured concrete foundation. Unfortunately it is short but somewhat useable. Its just a small house.

    They make ceramic tiles in vintage designs why not flooring?

  • iroll_gw
    11 years ago

    That is not actually linoleum, it is most likely felt-base. Congoleum was the major brand name. Sometimes it would be installed wall to wall, but "rugs" were less expensive. Love the art deco look.

    Here is a link that might be useful: History of Linoleum Rugs

  • debrak_2008
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for posting about the rugs, interesting. This floor did go wall to wall and the room was not square.

  • northbound
    11 years ago

    You might want to take a look at this book by an expert on the subject of old linoleum.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Linoleum by Jane Powell

  • northbound
    11 years ago

    One more idea to help in dating your sample: check out the vintage linoleum ads on eBay and maybe Etsy to see if you can find something similar to yours. There are quite a few ads from the 1920s and 1930s in color for the rugs and flooring on eBay.. HTH

    By the way, I found the Linoleum book in my library. The same author has books on bungalow kitchens, bathroom, interior and exterior details, etc., enough to make one drool!

  • debrak_2008
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Just a tease here. Tomorrow I'm going to post another larger photo with the info I found

  • Donaleen Kohn
    11 years ago

    Jane Powell's Bungalow Kitchen book is excellent.

  • debrak_2008
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Here are larger pieces. On the back it said Armstrong Q... Floor Covering Made in the USA. Sorry it was nothing dramatic. I just wanted to be able to find this thread.

  • angie_diy
    11 years ago

    Whaddya mean, nothing dramatic? That looks awesome!

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