Heritage Home Series

What of flooring would have been most popular in heritage houses?

As true today as in the past, the social and economical status of your home’s first owners strongly determine what style and quality of flooring would have been installed. Within those guidelines, however, the types of materials for flooring have not changed a great deal. Styles changed, and technological advances made the materials more user friendly. For the purposes of this article, let us consider the broad categories of wood flooring, tiles, sheet goods, matting, and carpets or rugs.

This type of flooring has been in use since the classic civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. Its warmth, beauty and longevity have always made it a popular choice. In Victorian times,(1837 – 1901) a modest home would often have plain pine boards of varying widths throughout the home. The “colonial style” required the carpenter to lay the widest boards in the center of the room, and the narrowest at the perimeter of the rooms. Pine floors were kept natural in bedrooms, kitchens and service areas. In the “best” rooms such as the parlor, they were stained and varnished to emulate more expensive woods.

Parquetry, the laying of geometrically arranged pieces of wood, was very popular until after World War I. Larger, expensive homes sported overall parquetry floors in oak and exotic hardwoods in several rooms of the home. Patterns such as herringbone, chevron and basket weave were popular. In smaller homes, parquetry was used in borders only in public rooms. In some cases, even borders were too expensive, therefor creative homeowners stenciled border designs around the room or around the central “carpet”.

Arts and Crafts homes, known for their return to honesty of materials, generally used plain wood flooring . Gustav Stickley cautioned his readers that wood floors should be as dark as adjacent wood paneling. As time passed, art deco styling in the late 1920’s and 1930’s, favored lighter woods with simpler geometric patterns. Wood continued to be the material of choice for living rooms, bedrooms and hallways, and today hardwood floors are still very desirable. Remember that floors with random width boards are considered informal, while narrower, standard width boards are more formal.

Do your research carefully when deciding whether to use real wood or laminate flooring in your home. In spite of how good laminates look, the longevity of such products is directly proportional to the type of wear and tear it will experience. 'So with a wood floor" you say. Yes that is true, however real wood floors can be resurfaced - not so with laminates.

This category includes stone and earthenware based products and their imitators. During the latter part of the Victorian era, Romanesque and Turkish designs became very popular. This was due to the widespread interest in the treasures of tombs that were being discovered. Mosaic floors made with encaustic tiles (inlaid earthenware) were seen everywhere. Their hard wearing properties made them perfect for entrances, conservatories, including steps and pathways. Plain stone tiles made of red quarry were favored for kitchens. These designs continued into the 20th century, and were imitated in linoleum and other types of sheet flooring.

Marble tiles were often found in larger homes where formality and prestige was revered. Arts and Crafts interiors favored stone flag floors in entrances, and kitchens. Glazed decorative tiles were set into plain boards around the fireplace hearth, and today these original tiles are much sought after.

Linoleum was invented in 1860 by Frederick Walton of Scotland. Made from compressed ground wood, cork and linseed oil, it remained the most popular type of sheet flooring until the 1950’s. It fulfilled the need for easy to clean, inexpensive mass produced floor covering materials.

Rich Victorians used this new product in service areas, and in servants’ rooms. Accepted taste called for plain green, brown (or “India” red.) Poorer Victorians used linoleum in patterns and textures that emulated more expensive materials such as marble, parquet flooring and stone.

Edwardians (1901 – 1910) liked tile especially in bathrooms. The flooring was much warmer underfoot, and available designs included those that before were only available in mosaic tiles. Six inch square black and white tiles surrounded by mosaic like borders made it a perfect choice for these rooms as well as entrances. Here the flooring could be installed to resemble marble tiles.

Designs in the 1920’s and 1930’s became larger and simpler. A checkered design was popular, but so were large plain spaces surrounded by inlaid borders of different colors. These spaces were sometimes left plain, or incorporated a rug . Today, linoleum is gaining new favor as being “eco – friendly” and is enjoying a revival in popularity.

Matting is another product that is enjoying new popularity today which would be totally appropriate in a heritage home. This includes sisal rugs made from the Mexican agave plant, coir rugs made from coconut husks and jute rugs made from the stalk of an Indian herb. Well to do Victorians often used these rugs in the summer as replacements for the more expensive rugs that were stored during the warm season. Others used them year round, especially in service rooms. Edwardians continued to use them into the new century. Arts and Crafts aficionados approved of them because they were made of natural materials. Popular colors in the early 20th century included natural, white, olive and red and white checks. However, interest in these materials waned as the century progressed and less expensive carpeting became available.

Another suitable flooring is floor cloth which was originally made of oil cloth. Large amounts of this material was available thanks to the ship building industry in the early 19th century. Stretched, treated, then painted, or stenciled with designs, it was to take the place of rugs or carpets for many years. Victorians used them in servants’ rooms and in back areas. Less financially independent homeowners used them in all rooms, with designs coordinating with their décor. Today, there are classes available to show you how to create one for your own home.

For our purposes, we will refer to carpets as covering a room wall to wall, and rugs as being a defined single shape not intended to cover an entire floor. Early carpeting (c1850) was woven on a narrow loom and stitched together to fill the space. Patterns were busy and reflected popular taste of the time. Factors such as the invention of the power loom, the jacquard loom and synthetic dyes finally made carpeting available to the middle classes. Before this time, carpets and rugs had been the preserve of the very rich. Names such as Wilton, Savonnerie, and Aubusson are synonymous with wealth.
Rugs were often “framed” by wood parquet borders.

The popularity of Oriental rugs today as in the past attest to their timeless appeal. From Times Past on occasion has carries vintage oriental rugs. We also carry a synthetic, washable version of these rugs. Made in Belgium, one style suits higher traffic areas where washability is a bonus, and the second type, with a more lush texture, is perfect for lower traffic areas such as parlors, bedrooms and living rooms. They would be appropriate in Victorian, Edwardian, Arts and Crafts, and even 1920’s traditional interiors.

Arts and Crafts interiors would also benefit from adding rugs in stylized art nouveau floral designs, as popularized by William Morris. The modernist movement influenced taste in the 1930’s. Large hotels and ocean liners favored large repeat designs in soft pastel colors, and this trickled down to more modest homes. Carpet squares were also cut into shapes to create original designs. Today carpet squares can be bought to recreate this look.

As you can see, the availability of materials is quite good due to the increased popularity of past designs. As is often said “ Everything old is new again”. A bit of research at your local library will identify the designs that were popular during the time your home was built. Armed with this knowledge, your shopping trip will be much easier. Good luck!