Genuine innovations are afoot, or underfoot, because of some enterprising Chicagoans who are taking their cutting edge to vinyl and rubber tile.
Those lowly, durable materials chiefly associated with school corridors, bowling alleys, fast-food emporiums and other unpretentious milieus are edging into the design world as stylish and creative alternatives to industrial carpeting and expensive hardwood. Cheap, easy to maintain and surprisingly versatile in the right hands, the tile can turn an ordinary room into a unique environment.
We`re all familiar with the vinyl-tiled ”checkerboards” or highly textured linoleum favored by architects and developers in the last decade, but this is something new on the creative horizon: inlaid designs, hand-carved from 12-inch-square, flexible tiles that harken to fine craftsmanship rather than mass production. Because each floor is individually designed, it can be styled to anyone`s taste, furniture and accessories.
”Having something creative show up in every single surface of one`s home is a growing interest, and I think the direction is clear: People want art in their lives in an everyday way, not just as framed objects hanging on their walls,” said Robert U. Brown, senior vice president of Knapp Communications, which publishes a variety of home magazines and conducts many surveys on design-related subjects. ”These days people are much more willing to hire craftspeople to work in their homes to get that personal, unique look. First we saw all the special wall treatments; now it`s the floors.”
Because of this burgeoning interest in artistic surfaces, familiar materials, such as Formica, are being re-examined for their design potential. Vinyl and rubber tiles passed the test (and are virtually interchangeable for floor inlays), but don`t try to substitute that old standby, linoleum.
”Linoleum comes on rolls 12 feet wide, and it`s much thinner and flimsier than the vinyl and rubber tiles,” explained Mary Riley, manager of the Tile Outlet, 2434 W. Fullerton Ave., where business has increased dramatically in the last three years. ”Besides, linoleum is only printed with a pattern on its surface, while vinyl and rubber have the pattern running all the way through. They just wear much better and come in a wide selection of colors and patterns. That`s why they`re favored for this sort of floor.”
Architect Peter Landon created a variety of inlaid floors in wood and ceramic before using rubber for the kitchen of his own home-a geometric pattern inspired by such early modern architectural masters as Adolph Loos and Otto Wagner.
”My wife and I wanted a real hands-on, Arts-and-Crafts approach to the details of the house,” he said, standing in the customized kitchen with its ceramic mosaic highlights.
The floor, in shades of green, yellow, orange, blue, gray and black, took ”one intense day to install, and my knees were mush by midnight. But an inlaid rubber floor is a really great money-saving, creative opportunity, particularly for younger clients who like the look of a ceramic tile floor, which is much more expensive. I can buy rubber factory `seconds` for 50 to 60 cents apiece (compared to twice that for `firsts`), which is a lot cheaper than other floor coverings. And when it gets dirty, it doesn`t look so bad you have to clean it every 15 minutes.”
For Parisian-trained artist Eric Ceputis, using rubber and vinyl for a commissioned floor last year was a challenge because ”to me, the real issue is how to use these common materials and not have the project come out looking like a currency exchange.”
When his friend Gail Bentivegna moved into a 1950s condo, Ceputis (who has a business specializing in unusual surface treatments that involve painting and the use of ceramic tile for walls, doors and floors) was eager to create an inlaid design just for her. The result is a dynamic black expanse broken by colorful geometric ”starbursts” that so pleased Bentivegna that she asked Ceputis to extend it up the walls and above her cabinets, in a true break with vinyl tradition.
”I told Eric he could use any material he wanted to create whatever he wanted,” said Bentivegna, administrative-systems director for Playboy Enterprises, ”as long as it fit in with my philosophy that a room can have the same design quality and energy level as a painting. But I admit I was totally shocked when I came home to find a black kitchen floor. Now I`m so excited by it, I show pictures to strangers on the bus! It really is a functional work of art and just takes people`s breath away.”
Ceputis, who was inspired by intricate terra-cotta mosaics he saw during travels to Morocco and Saudi Arabia, had no formal ”inlay” training other than watching artisans at work. Still, he cautions would-be rubber and vinyl tileophiles against trying to execute a job themselves: It might sound simple to do, but you could end up with a floor that looks like a reject from the set of ”Happy Days.”
”It really is very exacting work and takes a lot of practice even to lay just a plain, square tile,” Ceputis said. ”There`s no grout in between each square, so there`s no room for maneuvering if your cuts aren`t perfect. You have to be incredibly precision-oriented.”
Zuleyka Benitez, who took vinyl to new creative heights with her inlaid floor at the Luna Park Cafe, agreed that working with the tiles is not for the sloppy at heart. ”This is the perfect material for me because I love obsessive-compulsive details,” she admitted, surveying the diminutive space adjoining the Paris nightclub at 1122 W. Montrose Ave. The floor is a truly intricate undertaking, combining geometric elements with a round center in which two Art Deco-esque figures cavort, one with a tray of oversized coffee cups that spill into the surrounding design.
Benitez, an artist whose Architectural Detailing company specializes in all sorts of custom finishes, used pieces as small as an inch square to create the animated design complete with billowy, patterned clothing, incised details and figure contours-all of which belie the humble origins of the material, appearing more like a Renaissance inlaid stone tabletop.
”I looked at a lot of Art Deco illustrations and Ballets Russes costume studies before I began to draw out the `cartoon,` ” or guide, said the artist, who also created matching sheet-metal, dancing-girl light fixtures.
”It took me about 40 hours to cut out the pieces, spread over a few weeks because it really messes up the fingertips. But the total cost for materials was about $300, which is unheard of for an 800-square-foot space.”
For cafe co-owner Linda Rogers, the vinyl floor was a perfect solution for a host of problematic requirements, not the least of which was having a low budget to work with. ”Because the cafe is right next to a bar where people are going to be slopping drinks, we wanted a low-maintenance material that could essentially be hosed down,” said Rogers, who loves having a floor that has become a conversation piece for patrons. ”Plus, vinyl is very resilient and good for high heels.”
Oddly, none of these three tile enthusiasts was previously aware of the others` work or aware that they are part of a growing trend in vinyl and rubber floor design. But, as Ceputis said, ”people who are interested in craftsmanship and pattern are bound to latch on to the same materials, so I`m not surprised there are others out there.”
Benitez also knows that ”artists everywhere pick up on the same things.” Still, she wonders if there aren`t even more vinyl and rubber inlaid floors out there.
”I have to say that one or two people looked at the floor at Luna Park and told me they have one at home just like it!” –
