Cork. Yep. Good ol' cork floating flooring. It can be 'made' to look like wood, or stone, or flowers, or Hello Kitty. As a cork flooring expert, this is my 'wheelhouse!'. Eco-flooring comparisons are my jam! Don't get me going on bamboo (oiy vey).
Cork flooring was the precursor to linoleum. Linoleum is made from linseed oil (can you see the word "Lin" in linseed?) and cork particles and wood dust (pretty much anything you can sweep up off of a manufacture's floor). The mixture then solidifies and you have linoleum.
Right. Back to my point. You can EAT your cake and have it too. Both linoleum and cork have some basic maintenance to them...that's fine. Cork floating flooring can give 25+ years of life. A linoleum floating floor can offer 25+ years of life. So far they are equal.
Cork floating flooring can be installed in kitchens and entrance ways (sealant must be used). So can click linoleum (seam sealers are needed at time of install). NEITHER one of them can go in a bathroom...BUT you can 'match' the look by using a glue down version in the bathrooms = continuous look throughout 100% of the house!!! How COOL is that???
You can work with a traditional cork 'look'. Or you can go with a 'printed cork' (the cork is coated in white primer and then it is run through a DIRECT INK INJECTION process = biggest photocopier in the WORLD!!!) that gives you ANY look you want (including Hello Kitty...nope...not kidding...it sells REALLY well in Asia!).
If I have intrigued you, feel free to reach out to a former colleague of mine, Anne, at iCork Floor LLC. She will get you some samples.
www.icorkfloor.com
I love their Design Cork. It is out of SWITZERLAND! These are some SERIOUSLY impressive cork floors. They tick all the boxes...without ruining the planet. The Swiss produce the best products in the world (ahem...watches, chocolate, private banking...etc). Their flooring products are the MOST STRINGENT in the world (they are tougher than the Japanese requirements).
Cork Archives - iCork Floor Store
Have a look. Poke through the traditional floating flooring. The favourites are 'Silver Birch', 'Leather', and 'Logan'. All of which are patterned by traditional cork floors. They are instantly recognizable as cork floors - of the HIGH END variety. Anyone who knows ANYTHING about eco-flooring will recognize cork as being the luxury finish that it is...without looking like a hospital.
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glue down cork tile
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