In keeping with our eco design model, and just for the sheer fun of it, we’ve decided that the kitchen floor will be made up from all the leftover pieces of Marmoleum we’ve saved so far.
The first part was the installation of a high quality sub-floor (similar to the bathrooms), consisting of maple plywood and a lot of staples.
Then we mocked up some layouts on the computer (complete with correct colors and textures), and settled on the one below.
Then using a panel saw we cut the pieces as square as possible and ended up with this!
We’re hoping to have it installed in the next couple of weeks.
[UPDATE]
The floor was finally installed this past week by a local company. We felt a professional would handle the complexity a little better, rather than installing it ourselves – plus they’ve got all the tools! He did a really nice job.
Looking Good! Can’t wait to see the final product.
I think it’s sweet. Save money; save a little landfill. Right on.
Hey, you guys got linked on BoingBoing! Nice floor!
Looks great!
Saw this on Neatorama–looks great! We might try this ourselves!
WOW! That is a BEAUTIFUL FLOOR!
Where did you collect all the bits from?
Love your kitchen! Very calm and comfortable yet provoking
Abso-friggin-lutely GORGEOUS!
Green is a good idea, but the only thing I liked about this floor is the Terrier. Is he for sale?
Very unique and quite lovely! (I’m from BoingBoing too).
@Jamie Sue
All the pieces were left over bits from the bathrooms floors, bathroom countertops and kitchen countertops.
@Anita
I’m afraid not. 😛
Albo
Diary of a Vermont Eco Builder
Wow! Nice find! Doubt many people can score enough Marmoleum scraps to do a floor.
Well they originated as full sized pieces – 6′, 8,’ 12′ long etc. – before we used them in the house. We just happened to keep the bits left over for no real reason.
After pricing full sheets of marmo (@ full price) it was just too expensive for us to do, so we were sort of forced to come up with an alternative.
Albo
Diary of a Vermont Eco Builder
i like the red stripe – like a hollywood red carpet – but for going to the sink 🙂
Great idea! The floor looks great. You’ve given me great ideas for my bathroom floors.
FAB floor, very different! Cool idea 🙂
I see you also have the ‘space pinecone’ lamp from IKEA. Tres chic and cheep! We decided against Marmoleum in an addition because getting an effect like yours would be too expensive, and the plain Marmoleum looks like a high school cafeteria! How much was the professional installation?
It’s probably going to run us around $350-400. Definitely up there, but having all the pieces to deal with gave us the shakes.
We’re fine with a single piece or countertop install (since the gluing is very quick) but felt it was time to call the folks in who have done this for decades.
Awesome! How is the upkeep on the floor?
Pretty easy! We’re just using a microfiber mop and Seventh Generation’s Natural All Purpose Cleaner.
Love this idea of remodeling a kitchen with leftover pieces of Marmoleum.
You definitely kept going “green” in mind when putting together this kitchen.
Did you use energy efficient kitchen appliances too?
You bet! Spent a good couple of months researching every model out there, as well as the companies behind the appliances.
Energy Star also has an excellent spreadsheet that allows you to analyze the cost of say a fridge over ten years, taking into account the efficiency of the unit compared to others. It will also give you the payback time.
The dishwasher ended up being the best, since it was the least expensive to start with – even though it received top marks in Consumer Reports.
How’s the marmoleum holding up? I’m beginning a kitchen remodel and am really inspired by your floor but I’ve read some horror reviews of marmoleum online. Any comments?
It’s been over a year now and looks just the same. What kind of horror stories?
Check out the comments here:
http://www.greenerbuilding.org/product_detail.php?cid=35&pid=35
People seem to either love it or HATE it.