Sweep it OFF the (Linoleum) Rug

Well, today is only Wednesday, and I feel like I could nap until the weekend! We have a very long to-do list, and it seems like every time we check something off the list, something else gets added. This past weekend, we were busy working at the hotel, trying to make the list shorter. I’m not sure yet if we succeeded or not, haha.

The other thing that constantly re-occurs is a mess. We get rooms looking pristine, and the next day we’re back to having debris all over the floor… But now that we have a good portion of the third floor cleaned out, I took the opportunity to do some (hopefully) final cleaning. (Meanwhile, Dane was finishing taking out the cast iron and making some final layout adjustments, no big deal! Haha!) I had way too much fun using the broom and shop vac! We invested in a HEPA shop vac to safely pick up the brick and plaster dust. Most of the chunks of debris have been shoveled out, so I was mostly working with dust. Doesn’t sound like much, but just to give you a little idea, vacuuming two rooms filled up three shop vac bags, each weighing more than 40 pounds! I couldn’t believe it! I also couldn’t get them out by myself, but nevermind that… 

Cutting Big Holes in the Floor

In preparation for the plumber, we have to remove an area of floor boards in each bathroom for the new plumbing to be installed. It was actually really fun to remove the boards as well, and so satisfying knowing that when that hole is covered up with plywood, there will be plumbing underneath! Yay! 

With the floorboards we removed, we started to cut them to fill in some existing gaps in floors. It was a little more challenging than both Dane and I anticipated, but we’re learning as we go, and we’re confident it will look really nice once it’s all complete!

And the last thing we did was put up a piece of drywall! Crazy, right! Well, there is a large hallway wall with an open spot where we removed a door. We put up a piece of drywall and then cut out a few more pieces to fill in the gaps. And boy, was that a learning curve. We will definitely have to do some more YouTubing and prep before doing more so we can smooth out the kinks. 

About Linoleum Rugs

Now, as for the beautiful rug you may have seen in some of our pictures or videos, it is a linoleum rug! I did some research this week to try and find out how old these rugs could be. 

I had no idea, but linoleum was invented by Frederick Walton all the way back to 1863. The primary method for making patterns was using hand-block printing with wood blocks. Linoleum flooring became very popular, but it wasn’t until 1917 that linoleum rugs were introduced. These rugs were printed to resemble similar patterns of expensive woven or knotted carpets. From the 19th century through the 1950s, floral patterns were very popular. Geometric patterns also became popular and even some fun art deco patterns during the 1930s and 1940s. 

We currently have three linoleum rugs in the hotel: two on the third floor (one floral, the red one, and the other a more geometric/square style). There is also a black and gold floral rug on the second floor across from what used to be the dance hall. But when did our rugs get here in the hotel? I think our rugs probably came sometime between the 1920s and the 1950s. No matter what, definitely old! If only the walls and the rugs could talk! 

Also, another fun fact: you can still purchase linoleum rugs today! While I was researching, I found a company that recreates fun linoleum rugs! Definitely worth checking out!