Linoleum Rugs

PRODUCT Portable mats and other hot uses of the tacky old flooring

HOW IT STARTED The '50s-design rage spurred inventive young artists in California to kitsch up

JUDGMENT CALL Wacky, but way sharp. What's next, AstroTurf?

With Eames chairs and bark-cloth drapes coming back into vogue, it was only a matter of time before linoleum floors joined the retro-design boom. MTV's offices in Santa Monica, Calif., are covered with the stuff, while Jack Nicholson, Ted Danson and Phil Collins have all had intricate hand-cut floors inlaid at their homes by Hollywood designer Laurie Crogan. The tacky old sheeting product has also been refashioned into modern "linoleum rugs." They were born in L.A. a few years back, when abstract painter Christopher Stearns decided to cover up his apartment's ugly kitchen with portable mats rather than install permanent flooring. He chose linoleum for its high kitsch factor as well as its unique feel.

"I liked the idea of being somewhat irreverent with this institutional, quasi-industrial, Everyman material," Stearns explains. "And because it's made from cork dust, it has a surprisingly pliable plushness." Along with marketing partner M. Dwight Freeman, he launched Westling Design, offering his durable, handmade creations in bold grid, dot and zigzag patterns that recall art by Mondrian, Kandinsky and Escher. They're not cheap--priced at around $40 per sq. ft., a 6-ft. by 8-ft. area rug costs nearly $2,000. But just think of all those hours you'll save on vacuuming.

--By Jeffrey Ressner