It's VCT - vinyl composition tile (Armstrong is the maker). I have to have a floor that flexes since my house does (expansive clay soils w/ a foundation built in the 40s) --- and I wanted it to go with the period of the house. I like the marmoleum product better, but it wasn't a viable choice (too few colors were available) when I started using this kind of flooring in my bathrooms and kitchen and garden room 23 years ago, so I've stuck with this choice since then (although this specific floor is only 2 years old). The down side of VCT floor tiles is the maintenance - they have to be waxed. I have them professionally waxed (main house + guest house = 3 baths, 2 kitchens, garden room) 2x/year for about $250.

Margie, many thanks for taking the time to respond!

I used to have sheet vinyl in my kitchen and bathrooms a few years ago that had a low to medium gloss, and never needed waxing. If my understanding is correct, most residential vinyl sheet or tile is no-wax, but the commercial vinyl/VCT needs regular waxing as you describe.

Is there any solid color vinyl tile that is "no-wax"? I really would like a simple tile pattern in 2-3 solid colors for our kitchen floor, but am not wild about the idea of waxing it twice/year.

have a look at the Marmoleum -- they've got a lot of colors out now.

Wow, thank you so much for this advice. My wife and I are planning on redoing the floor in our kitchen this summer. I really like the turquoise and blue tiles in this photo. I think that it will really make everything look so much nicer. Thanks a lot for the information on where to find these tiles. http://mortoncontracting.com