timber.j -- I'll post some pics tomorrow. Need to take some first :)

Floor abuse!?! What??? No...I've never heard of anyone that abuses floors before! I'm sure that would be a valid concern regarding cork. We didn't really look into that because it's just my DH & I...but I can see why for many, that would be a concern. I was just drawn to it, and thought I'd share. :c)

Ok, all this time I've been thinking that Kitchenkelly was a "debbie downer" kind of person, that she was beating the proverbial dead horse, that she bitterly typed away at poor Fori over the "morgue drawer" comment and then I go look at the post! Not only did she have the wit and cheekiness to put a body IN her morgue drawers, but then I read that she posted a picture of herself sitting in a sink...ok fess up where is said picture!!

I do have to say that I'm a little concerned that she has morgue drawers and also says "I'm a single gal," all in the same post...maybe we should alert someone? Perhaps she really does love Marmo but only in the dark funeral colors because they don't show...ummm stuff and *feel* tacky?!!!

What was this thread about again? Floor abusing, morgue drawer marmo in blue that's tacky?!

Oh, I'm sure any floor of mine will FEEL tacky underfoot.

bwahahahahaha..

ew. sticky...

I have two rooms with marmoleum floors- this is not a tacky floorcovering- it fits well into our high-end remodeling of our 20's home.

What I would say, however, is just be careful of how much color can register when there is very little in the actual material. We did our kitchen in checkers of Serene Grey + Carribean. this looks fantastic. Actually, the serene grey registers as a lot of color on the floor and definitely comes off as a blueish- greenish color. The carribean is a wonderful warm creamy color. In short: samples have very little color but really pop when installed as a whole floor.

We have one color Marmoleum sheet in the bathroom, a pretty aqua color called Fresco. This is very intense color. The rest of hte bathroom is white white- white cabinetry, white tub, white subways in shower area with a 4" band of small aqua/indigo glass tiles. Walls are a very mild dusty green (Dorian grey). The room is really gorgeous, but the intense color of the floor only works because there is so much white elsewhere.

Good luck with your pick. My personal taste regarding your sample photo is that I'd think hard about that pinkish color mixed into the blueish marmoleum. Can you get a chance to look at a LOT of that? and see whether you really like the overall effect before you jump in? If if is too much, go for something that appears much more subdued- which may very well pop and create a wow effect when on the real-life floor.
You're going to love this stuff: really nice underfoot. Classy without being too opulent or conspicuous consumption.

This is not marmoleum, but CVT. I ordered five colors and the flooring lady thought I was delirious and so very strongly encouraged me to use "not more than 2 colors".

She had the hardest time envisioning what 5 different colored tiles in one area would look like. I really enjoyed it. It never showed dirt, took a beating (from a 170+ lb. Great Dane) and never looked like "plastic".

IMO, Strong color (even more than one!) can be a wonderful addition to a kitchen, so long as the intesity levels of the floor, backsplash,etc. ties in with the surrounding areas.

Both Kitchen were small and long and narrow (similar to yours). I think that layout lends itself to a lot of really interesting choices.

I had enough left over I used it on another project.

Sorry the pics are so LARGE and a few grainy- Every time it takes me forever to re-learn how to post them! by adding another step, I would be bald due to frustration.
You get the idea.

Have a blast with it! This thread is a riot - I cant wait to see the finished project (no pressure!).

Have a great weekend all!
-September

Those are great, September! (I also love the striped walls.) I'm a bit inclined to a nice green like in your little kitchen.

Walls and floors are too much. I should pick marble first, right? Then it'll be easy?

Wow. September, your house looks like such a comfortable and creative space. I love the fact that you're bold enough to ignore the advice of the professionals. I have a feeling that Fori is the same kind of gal. In fact, near as I can tell this discussion has collected quite a few free-spirits.
Thank God, because I was getting tired of seeing rooms that were Connecticutty!

**Fori
Right, Marble first, easy- breezy! How was that for positive reinforcement? Convincing, Yes? I love the ideas of the different surface textures you're planning. The kitchen I'm re-doing right now is the first where I've ever installed wood flooring (even I'm surprised). I really like it but its a little too "too" ________________ (fill in the blank), I miss my previous kitchen floors with their unique personalities. Maybe I'm just going through color withdrawal.

**Debsan- Thanks so much. I always surround myself with things I love. So it's pretty laid back and comfort driven.

Holy Macaroni- It just occurred to me- Every kitchen I've ever owned (8 and counting) has been GREEN. Feeling a little kermit-ish now.

-09

September Home- I'm pretty sure I speak for more than myself here... Could we please see more of your unique, creative home? Maybe on the Home Decoration board? Thank you!!!!

Wow, am I the 100th followup? Where's the confetti? The baloons?

**September, surrounding yourself with the things that you love, is the secret of having a house that isn't Connecticutty. After all isn't the house supposed to be a place that makes us feel good and reflects our personalities?
**Fori & Rhome: I love the celery with the marmoleum. I think you're on to something with that combo.

**Everyone else, thanks for the enjoyable discussion on this thread. I hope you'll all weigh-in on my backsplash soon. I'm really in the weeds--especially because I lean Kermit-ish too.

I don't know about the balloons, but the confetti is in that floor sample. :)

I got more samples, of different stuff. More of the greys. The green that looks like someone barfed. (The green version of the fairy blue I first posted, I guess.) And the orangey version. Kinda like that one.

Funny how at least two here have done Serene Grey and Caribbean. They look great together but my instinct would have been to pair the Caribbean with a blue, which wouldn't be nearly as serene.

ANYWay...some of the milder blues are really appealing, even though I'd never ever do anything blue, I thought. But I think I'm leaning more toward a sensible grey. I'm waiting for my samples to de-amber--some of them really show it. And then, well, probably still won't make a decision.

(September, wood floor is terribly nice in a kitchen. Do get some frog-colored rugs for it so you feel at home!)

september, your 5-color floor is lovely! How did you ever think up that color combination?? I'm green with envy at your creativity. Your colorful walls make me smile just looking at them. I wish I had the eye for color that you have. Can you come over and help me pick some paint please? =)

Erika

Fori, I stopped in a the Neil Kelly remodeling showroom today and spotted a lovely, classy kitchen with - yep - marmoleum flooring. They'd inset a "bordered rug," two different marmoleums one inside the other. It was really yummy. Maybe you'd like to do something like that, like a runner "rug" down the center of your kitchen or a "rug" in front of your range? Just an idea.

September: WOW! Just stunning!

Fori --

Sheet lino user here. Have it in small kitchen and hallway (~ 5 years ago) and small bath (this fall, because that's how long I've been waiting to do MORE lino!).

"Green" and antistatic/easy clean properties aside, lino is incredibly, inherently beautiful to me; the variations that involve marbling invoke the gorgeous Italian marbled papers. To each his or her own, of course!

I admit I wimped out and went with neutral colors for both but I SO love a pale seaglass-y or vibrant floor! With your palette and layout you could absolutely go there -- love the examples posted above.

Couple of things:

1) If you haven't already, check around no-nonsense commercial flooring shops for lino. They often have inexpensive remnants from huge jobs AND you can often see a roll of the stuff...trust me, it helps to see as much of the pattern as possible. And perhaps most importantly if you're doing sheet lino, they have leads on qualified installers.

2) Of course, also check higher-end shops for the same (store installs, rolls).

3) Don't overlook Armstrong's lino line (the commercial has tons more color options than the residential). We used that in the kitchen, Forbo in the bath. Sometimes Forbo's shade is just enough off from Armstrong's that it works better and vice versa.

4) Remember lino does have ambering...the samples really need to sit under light or in sunlight for at least a week so the yellowish "lino bloom" wears off and you see the true shade.

Lino really photographs so poorly, sob...IRL, the pattern tends to *mellow* out compared to closeups, but in room shots it tends to flatten out -- even the manufacturer sites don't do it justice IMO.

With that disclaimer, a couple of pics for you:

Runner-up Aurora Hour on a roll -- this puppy was a contender for the bath and sometimes I shed a tear for not going there, but I saw an install and the pattern *is* pretty strong for someone like me who has a low threshold for mixing patterns, ha (hope to use it in a mostly-white bath someday):

My small (~ 10 x 15) 5+ y.o. kitchen in Armstrong's "Cream" lino butts against 1905 oak at two doorways...so it tones in visually [we could have found a deeper tone to create a more seamless look...something to consider?]

c/p with cab door:

My also-small (~ 6 x 10.5) bath in Forbo's "Real Concrete" (shoutout to Pal for suggesting I take a look at it when the patterning in other greys weren't working for me).

We have Concrete right up against a terrazzo shower pan (which sits below a marble bench) and against the Cream lino. Trust me, unless you go with a *really* strongly-IRL- patterned option the counter and floor won't compete. Some "raw materials" + 99% finished product:

whoops, sorry -- see you know about the ambering...this thread makes me scroll right and I missed that!

If I had a small space, I would love to do something like this: Crogan Inlay Floors (Go to the Gallery. A-MAZ-ING.) Or these vintage lino rugs.

Here's a kitchen on the FKB that has white cabs, marble countertops, SS appliances, and green walls, with Amtico (vinyl) flooring. I can't tell if the floor is a red or orange, or "trying to be" wood. But it all looks very pretty together.

Thanks Vixen--we might just go that direction and it certainly looks good under your cat! All your choices are so pretty together. Classy all over. We've been looking at Marmoleum more than Armstrong because they have bigger samples at the local dealers. Good reason huh? But I think we're going to probably end up sending for some.

Thanks for the links, Larzebub. Those are quite interesting...hehe. I do love that kitchen though.

We went marble shopping and that might have complicated matters though.

September,

I love your floors!!! Did you install those yourself and, if so, do you have any tips.

Also, I'd love to know more about your kitchen counter.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Just throwing in this pic...

{{gwi:1740220}}

I think some of the colors are quite nice, like the eternal stone. However, I would not personally have it because I don't think it will hold up as long as a nice porcelain or ceramic would, in a kitchen setting. I like things to last a lifetime and I'm not sure that would last 10 years. What is the warranty on it, BTW? I think about things that might damage it, for instance, pulling the refrigerator out to clean behind it. Will this floor hold up to this sort of thing? What happens if you drop a knive and it lands tip first?

Just throwing some things out in case you hadn't thought of them.

Thanks for the closeup, Amy. Busy, but in a good way!

We've thought about other materials for durability, Brutuses. This seems like a good compromise between durable and squishy. We do want something comfortable and have put oak in a previous kitchen for that reason but it doesn't work here for design reasons.

I've broken floor tile before, and it's a bit of a hassle to repair. Usually of course I break things ON the tile, which is also a concern.

The warranty is prorated for 25 years. We won't have any furniture in the kitchen and the refrigerator is built in. (And here's the "you're supposed to clean behind the fridge?" comment...) And holes can actually be repaired, although the appearance of the repair will probably vary depending on what color/pattern and the skill of the repairer.

Thank you everyone, for this great thread. I'm having a similar decision to make as I don't think we can match our 60+ year old oak and fir floors that connect to kitchen. Thanks to those who have mixed the lino w/ wood. It's good to see the lovely results.

House vixen, I'm really not following you! Thanks for all the info and yours looks great, I hadn't seen your kitchen before. It almost looks like mine will look, I think. If I posted a photo of my existing floor, y'all would be aghast. It might even be original (1941) and looks it.

With regards to durability, there were houses in my neighborhood that had linoleum floors that were 30+ years old that were in very good condition.The material is created like pulling taffy, the only way you will wear off the pattern is to wear through to the backing. The likelihood is that the floor would be changed due to a remodeling before it physically wore out.

amysrq, could you tell me the name of your flooring? It looks great with the floor. Is it your kitchen, and if so, would you mind posting more pics?

Thx

Sorry, I just realized that must be the Aurora Hour, correct?

Hi Mercury. It is called Grenada. I actually used it in my mudroom/laundry room area. The kitchen has the cherry flooring.

Fori, you're right....it is somewhat busy, but presents quite neutral from a distance. I chose the color because of the similarity in tone to the wood. That mudroom is right off the LR in my somewhat small house and I didn't want something eye-catching. I would have loved to do a wilder color/pattern elsewhere...

Have you walked on Marmoleum in your bare feet yet? It is silky and wonderful.

That's Granada? I'm going to have to look at it again. It really looks good where you have it. My wood floor is (probably) a bit orangier. I like how "busy" translates to, well, I don't know, but it is GOOD.

Thanks so much amy.

The Forbo site does something weird to me when I look at the colors. That one caught my eye as a thumbnail, but when I enlarge it, it looks very different. Like purple and orange, even a little red in it, so I kinda dismissed it. Now I will get a sample from the showroom. That looks great with the wood and I have two rooms adjacent to the soon-to-be redone kitchen with similar, maybe a little darker.

Excited to check it out!

Whew! Long, fun thread!

I have mixed soapstone and Marmoleum in my kitchen; in fact, it's the green version of the Marmo that kicked off this discussion. And it is not at all tacky. It wears like iron, feels GREAT underfoot and is very easy to maintain.

This picture is too yellow; artificial light. The floor is cooler than the picture looks. I love it.

Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen, my floor.

I love this thread - -so inspirational!

I'm just in the early stages of planning a kitchen reno and am really intrigued by linoleum. Stupid question for the day: When does sheet lino get installed? Before or after base cabinets?

What stair options are there with linoleum? I hate-hate-hate the riser/tread joint and the crud that seems to collect there overnight. The stair edge guard, too. I have a three-step stairway leading right out of my kitchen down to a 3x3 entry way. It's a royal PITA to keep clean and whatever I do on my kitchen floor has to accomodate or coordinate well with that, too.

~Jacy

**Debsan, bestyears, erika, etal. Thanks you guys, you are very sweet. I guess in my world creativity is what emerges when it takes me a while to get around to things!

**House_vixen- Thanks for the tips on the marmoleum. They are answers to questions that I would have never thought of asking, but I'm very glad to know. Thanks for sharing your experience and photos -love the globe on top of wall cupboard! That's so right up my alley.... now picture me climbing up there to "grab it" when necessity dictates for a world geography lesson. I could really get myself in trouble if I had your kitchen!

**Gabri- Thanks, yes I installed both kitchens and hall powder room using the VCT (CVT?). The 1/2 bath was different colorway/pattern. Come to think of it, I used it in my current house (completely different palete) for the floor of the baby closet, inside my clothes closet. It's so super easy, inexpensive and is the same color all the way through. So it doesn't damage easily and is a snap to repair. Did I mention is was inexpensive?

Thanks re: My counter top. Which one? The concrete or butcherblock?

**Fori-

Okay, Here's the million dollar question we are all dying to know.... have you become frustrated enough with your Marble search to revert back to the flooring dilemma?
I would LOVE to know what you're leaning towards and what you've eliminated. Afterall, you've started one of the most interesting and visually stimulating (to me at least) threads that I've seen in a while.

Drum roll, please....

I can't wait.

You guys are wonderful what a great outlet of creative people with wonderful experience.

Have a great one!
-September

Um. Yeeeah. No progress here. I might actually make my MOTHER look at floor samples. Pretty desperate huh?

I think I'll probably stick with plain ol' white marble. The serpentine is nice but, I dunno. I don't want to make a stone statement. I don't really LIKE stone ya know?

There has certainly been a lot of inspirational stuff posted here though--y'all are great!

Bumping this up to see if you found your floor yet. I have to decide asap as we start next week (hopefully). Scary but fun.

I am going to apologize first... if you read any of my recent posts... my head is spinning...I am rushing too much, can't decide on almost anything, need lots of help with everything...but I do have an art background and I love to joke around so here goes:
Pink, purple, blue,white, orange...that first picture has almost all of the colors of the rainbow...like someone chewed them up and spit them out and then swirled them around. Why would you do that to such beautiful cabinets, countertops and nearby wood flooring?
Seriously though...color would probably work, just not like that. I think color needs to make sense... to bring out the colors in different surfaces, to evoke a feeling...like that beachy blue floor in the otherwise white beachy kitchen. Retro colors in a retro pattern in a retro kitchen... you get it... but honestly... I can see myself picking something that others might think is off too... Probably there was some element you really liked about it...like wanting to put a little fun, color, spark, or quirkiness in to your kitchen...that is cool!

OK...update: no progress. :)

I almost decided to go with a toned down orangey blue floor but the spouse said something about how the orange and green were bad together (no, there isn't any green in it)...

What are you going with, Mercurygirl (I miss my Comet--are you that kind of mercury girl?)?

I think my previous msg was more tacky than the floor you first posted, looking back on it. So, I will give it another try. The colors and the materials that you are trying to match seem neutral to me, (even the orangy colored floors as they are wood) and classic. I think what threw me off with the first sample was that it looked so retro. What is your favorite color? Maybe adding color there would work, but with a different pattern. Good luck!

No worries, Fleur. I would not have asked if it was tacky if I didn't have a feeling it was. And I still don't know. And you only described it as spit out rainbow whereas WE refer to it as the blue barf floor. :)

My 4 year old loves it. That should tell me to keep looking right there...

LOL!! Love the descriptors. But, Fori, how about a new thread? This one takes forever...

I like color, and I'm using a ton of different colors in my kitchen, but I found the Marmoleum colors too intense for my kitchen, even the soft ones.

Your four-year-old loves it because of the color. It's pretty. That's why you're considering it in the first place. Children that age don't have the development to project it to the whole room.

Since you haven't made a choice by now, I think it means that Marmoleum just isn't for you. Armstrong only makes 7 colors of lino, but they're single colors with lights and dark, rather than several hues swirled.

Have you looked at cork? There's some gorgeous dyed cork out there. And natural cork might look good too. Not as practical, or as budget friendly, as Marmoleum, but nice...

I like to recycle threads!

As far as choices go, there are about 4 we like. That's 3 too many. We haven't really been thinking about it much but today I signed a cabinet contract so I have 3 weeks or so. I kinda like this one:
{{gwi:1787834}}
It's a little loud when you're close but from 5 feet up it's tame. There is also a fairly solid grey we like that would be very safe (and let me do the walls any color without worry).

I haven't seen any cork I'd take over oak. And I must confess I have no idea on the pricing of any of these options. My kitchen is small enough I can do just about anything.

Reduce comes before recycle!! :) It just takes a long time to load with all the pics.

I know that orange!! I LOVE it!!! It's one of my favorites of all their colors.

Re the cork, I agree on most of it. epOxyGreen has some amazing ones, though. They're very smooth, not really corkish, and come in these rich, lovely colors. I don't know anything more than that, and they're in the process of moving so aren't available until the middle of next week.

But if you want a vote for the orange, I vote yes! Assuming it looks good with the wood. Maybe you can sprinkle in a little of the yellow or green? (Heck, why use one color when you can use three?)

(Blame pizza. Can you get tipsy on pizza? Actually, I think you can if you let the crust ferment, but doesn't that take awhile?...)

Hey fori,

I've got the Marmoleum narrowed down to two, but now since reading another thread here about refinishing wood, I'm on the fence again and waiting for a couple pros to call me. This is very bad as we were supposed to start demo this week. My contracter is starting to piss me off and we haven't even started. I have no clue what's going on. Wish me luck!

Hope you're doing better. I like all those Vivace colors. Is the grey you mention Granada? That's what I lean toward.

Sorry about the load time...but I'm done now. :)

You have refinishable floors, MG? As Pllog says, reduce, reuse, recycle...I see why you'd be torn. Tough one.

The grey we have decided on (yes we have!) is far less interesting than "Granada" which is sort of elegant and grownup but didn't work for us. Too earthy I think and I want more Easter basket springy. My juvenile streak is shining through.

That orange (with blue!) is a perfect look with my oak floor, Pllog. But the spouse wasn't as keen. Some days I'd show it to the spouse and he's all yeah great! And the next time he's all ewwww that's gross. We also had the problem of not being all that great at coordinating things. I mean, I can pick colors that look good together, but when a floor has a lot of chunks of color in it, I feel compelled to use a wall color that is also in the floor. I shouldn't, and I can get past it, but...well, grey's nice with anything I'm likely to use. I've done floors grey before. I've done walls grey. It's a good color!

But we have selected a plain grey. "Eternity". If it bores us, we can add a rug or rip it out and add something bright. I hope it doesn't show coffee grounds...the picture on the Forbo page looks even less like the sample than most of their pictures. It's smudgy and not mottled like that suggests and has larger texture. Looks alot like Rhome's "Serene Grey" but a tad darker, and yes, there will likely be celery walls. I was going to attach the Forbo picture, but it's so far off I won't bother. Refer to the celery picture above and imagine it a little darker.

Boring? yeah, but once I hang up my cockroach collection, who will notice?

Gray floor and celery walls sound great!! And like a good backdrop for cockroach color.

Sounds lovely and unique. I honestly really want to see your kitchen when it's done! If I do end up with the Marmo, I'll let ya know which I choose.

(My floor MAY be refinishable. That's what I'm trying to find out now. It's covered with ancient vinyl, so...?) If I do the wood, maybe I'll do Marmo in a small bath down the road.

Oh, so glad you went with a funereal color.

Your "what" collection? (Sometimes I worry about you.)

It's not too late to change, Kelly! I can still do clown puke!

If my memory serves me correctly, you have a gloomy grey too, don't you? (And yes, it's beautiful...)

Howdy all. I just ordered mine, I chose Granada as I suspected I would. Thank you to amysrq for bringing it to my attention. I think it'll be great for our situation. Just under $3K for everything. (Is that a good price?)

Fori, get a sample of Donkey Island. It's like the reverse of Granada, so reads kinda orangey wood-toned, with little shots of blue. It sounds like you may like it.

Oh, Mercurygirl, I hope you love it as much as we do! I have no idea of the price...it was just one of the many (hideous) upgrades my builder charged me for before the economy imploded. I was still livin' large!

Agree on the Donkey Island. It made our short list. But, oy, what a name!

For physical reasons (I have RA), stone floor wasn't an option. We have gone back and forth between cork and Marmorette, and now it's just between several Marmorette colors. I love walking on the samples. Two of our three possible contractors have said: "Wow! Love the colors of the linoleum! Great choice. Stuff wears like iron, and I've done it in more and more high-end kitchens lately." That was reassuring.