Eco-poleum? Green-o-floleum? Fabulous-colorful-versatile-and-environmentally-sensitive-a-joleum?
I have long been a fan of Marmoleum as a flooring material. The colors – holy cow, the colors…so rich, so vibrant. And the neutrals are nuanced and lovely. All of the colors are slightly mottled, so you can find grey veins in the yellows, blues in the reds, that kind of thing. To my mind, the stippled colors and matte surface (rather than shiny) are the characteristics that really separate Marmoleum from its precursor, vinyl, and define it as a 21st century material.
I did a Dove Grey 621 and Calico 713 Marmoleum checkerboard floor on my own kitchen floor years ago (above). That project, tiny tho’ it was, helped get bossy color off the ground (so to speak, sheesh), so the material has a special place in my heart. Like cork and wood, it’s a forgiving material: it’s easy on the knees and back, and if you drop a glass, it has a fighting chance of survival. Not so with ceramic or stone. You do have to seal Marmoleum occasionally, but that’s not a big deal. I used to make a twice-yearly ritual of sealing the kitchen floor and concrete countertops at the same time…really, it’s not bad at all.
I’ve used Marmoleum primarily in kitchens, bathrooms and mudrooms, but now that you know about it, you’ll see it everywhere. (The walls and floor of California Tortilla in Cleveland Park, DC? Marmoleum.). Some super-hip clients are using it in their gym right now.
Marmoleum was even in boing-boing recently, as a crafty Vermont couple salvaged and installed large scraps of it as a patchwork kitchen floor (right).
Super cool, super cool. And did I mention that Marmoleum is made of completely renewable materials, such as linseed oil, wood flour, and resin?
Yeah, baby. Rockandrolleum.