What Flooring Looked Like 100 Years Ago—and What We're Still Installing Today

A century ago, historic home flooring in Chicago and the North Shore included many materials that would look surprisingly familiar today: solid oak, small-format tile, resilient kitchen floors, and durable surfaces built for heavy traffic. Some have evolved dramatically, while others have barely changed in concept. The common thread is simple: good materials installed well can last, and many older homes in our area still have the proof underfoot.

Hardwood: The Original May Still Be the Best Floor

Then: By the 1920s, improved milling had made oak, maple, and heart pine standard flooring materials in ordinary homes. Narrow oak strip flooring became especially common in Chicago bungalow-era and North Shore homes, and today we still find original wood hiding beneath carpet and other later floor coverings.

The weak point wasn't necessarily the wood—it was the finish. Shellac and paste wax required constant rewaxing, and water spots could turn the finish white. Keeping a wood floor looking good took considerably more maintenance than it does today.

Today: The basic material has held up remarkably well. Modern finishes provide much better resistance to water and everyday wear with far less upkeep, which means a solid wood floor installed generations ago can often continue doing its job.

That's why our approach with original hardwood is generally refinish first, replace when necessary. If the boards still have enough material to be sanded and aren't too damaged, hardwood floor refinishing can reveal a floor that has been part of the house for decades.

Original hardwood is typically worth evaluating before covering it or tearing it out:

• Check whether the wood is solid and thick enough to sand again.
• Look for damage that goes beyond the finish and into the boards.
• Consider refinishing before assuming replacement is necessary.

Sometimes replacement is the right answer. But when the original wood is sound, preserving it can keep a genuine piece of the home's history in service.

Linoleum to Today's Resilient Floors

Then: Linoleum in the 1920s was a natural flooring product made with linseed oil, cork, and jute on a backing. It was prized because it was easy to clean, and checkerboard patterns became a familiar sight in kitchens.

One distinction matters when talking about linoleum vs vinyl: they aren't the same material. Linoleum came first; vinyl arrived later and is often mistakenly used as a catch-all name for older resilient flooring.

Today: The materials have changed, but the basic appeal hasn't. Modern resilient vinyl flooring, including sheet vinyl and luxury vinyl plank or tile, continues the idea of a floor that's practical, comfortable, and easy to live with.

Today's resilient flooring can be softer and warmer underfoot than tile while offering water resistance and easy cleaning. So while a modern resilient floor isn't simply a new version of 1920s linoleum, it solves many of the same everyday problems with newer materials and construction.

A Note Before Removing Older Flooring

Floors and adhesives installed through much of the 20th century—including some older resilient tile and black mastic—can contain asbestos. Don't sand, scrape, or pull up an unknown older floor or adhesive before having it tested.

Hex and Penny Tile: Small Format, Long Life

Then: Small mosaic floors were everywhere in early-1900s bathrooms and entryways. Hex tile and penny-round tile were commonly installed with tight, narrow grout joints, creating a surface that was both decorative and practical.

There's also a structural advantage to all those small pieces. Small tiles with many grout joints tend to tolerate slight movement better than large-format tile. That's part of the reason so many original mosaic floors have survived.

Today: We still install tile flooring, and small-format mosaics remain a natural choice when a homeowner wants a bathroom to feel appropriate to the period of an older house. Unlike some vintage flooring materials that were eventually replaced by newer technologies, hex and penny tile never really needed to disappear.

The installation methods and supporting materials may have evolved, but the fundamental idea remains remarkably recognizable: lots of small, durable pieces working together as one floor.

In an older Chicago-area home, surviving hex tile isn't automatically something that needs to be torn out. If it's sound and suits the space, an original mosaic floor may still have plenty of life left.

Terrazzo to Epoxy: Durability Evolves

Then: Terrazzo was built to make an impression. Marble chips were set into a cement binder and ground smooth, creating the kind of durable, seamless-looking surface associated with Art Deco lobbies and public buildings.

Traditional cement terrazzo also came with practical limitations. At roughly three inches thick, it was heavy, and installation over wood framing that flexed could lead to cracking.

Today: The desire for a durable, continuous floor hasn't gone anywhere, but the materials available to achieve it have evolved. Thin epoxy-based systems can create seamless, hard-wearing surfaces without relying on the heavy cement terrazzo construction of the past.

We don't install traditional terrazzo, but the same larger idea—building a floor to stand up to demanding use—carries through to our commercial epoxy flooring work today. It's a good example of how flooring changes over time: sometimes an old material survives almost unchanged, and sometimes a newer system takes the underlying idea in a different direction.

For commercial spaces in particular, durability isn't just about appearance on installation day. It's about choosing a floor system suited to the traffic and demands it's going to face over time.

Common Questions About Historic Home Flooring

Can 100-year-old hardwood floors be refinished?

Often, yes. Solid original hardwood can usually be sanded and refinished if the boards still have enough thickness and haven't suffered excessive damage. We recommend evaluating the existing floor before assuming it needs replacement, because an older hardwood floor may have decades of usable life remaining.

Is original hex tile worth saving?

It can be. Small-format mosaic floors tolerate slight movement well, and many original hex and penny-tile installations have survived precisely because of the way they're constructed. If the existing floor is sound, keeping it can preserve a period-correct element of the home.

What's the difference between linoleum and vinyl?

Traditional linoleum is a natural product made from materials including linseed oil, cork, and jute on a backing. Vinyl came later and is a different flooring material, although both belong to the broader story of resilient floors designed to be comfortable and easy to clean.

A lot can change in a century, but a well-made floor doesn't necessarily become obsolete just because it's old. Whether you're uncovering original hardwood, restoring a period bathroom, or choosing a modern floor built around the same principles of durability and practicality, contact Dallia or call (847) 677-1774 to talk through the options.