Inspiration from the Past and Present

Years ago I bought the book The House Book by Terence Conran. It cost $35 in 1976 and that was a lot of money back then, but nowadays you can buy it used for under $1. I’ve found good ideas from the book for my house over the years.

One room caught my fancy way back then. It showed a black rubber studded floor. The floor had little raised “coins.”
The picture caption said, “… Tough studded rubber flooring looks attractive and makes sense in a room that has access to the garden.” I tucked that image away in the back of my mind.

Just the other day, I came across Cathy Vigor’s blog. She took her readers on a tour of her studio in the Pendleton Art Center in Ashland, Kentucky. (Click on her name and visit her blog and studio, you’ll enjoy the visit.) She included a photo of the hallway outside her studio. I really liked the bight yellow walls and the cobalt blue door trim.
Yesterday, we went looking for flooring at Lowe's. I didn’t see anything that made my heart go pitty pat. Installation costs were high, even for moderate priced flooring, because of the unusual triangle shape of my small office/designing area. We were just on the way out of the flooring department when I saw a display of coin-studded PVC garage flooring.
Cobalt blue! It will look good with lemon yellow walls.

It’s called Flexi-Tile. It is rather pricey, but we won’t have to pay for installation because it snaps together with a rubber mallet. Cutting all the angles may be a bit tedious but I am sure we can do it. It is not glued to the floor so if we make an error we can pull it up and try again.

I found two websites with more information than Lowe's had available. The manufacturer is in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Ireland. I ordered it today from a Texas dealer. Next, I have to find the perfect paint. I should have the room painted by the time the tile arrives.