JuLT e, 1914. 



The Florists' Review 



9 



FANCY FLOORS FOR x 

 X FLORISTS' STORES 



• f ^ . 





The Retail Florist who is remodeling his store can add greatly to 

 its appearance, at small extra cf^st, by putting in an up-to-date floor 



8 SUMMER approaches, the 

 thoughts of the florist who 

 has a store turn to redeco- 

 rations, alterations and im- 

 provements to be completed 

 before the next season 

 opens. Perhaps he will go 

 so far as to build a new store; or he 

 may only add a few touches to make 

 his shop more attractive than it was 

 last year. In either case he puts his 

 mind at work to find something that 

 will make his store a little better than 

 the ordinary — something to give it a 

 distinctive air all its own. 



This is the reason why it is so much 

 more « pleasure ta go into a florist 's 

 store than any other kind of a shop. 

 There is nearly always something that 

 makes it a little different. Take, for 

 instance, the matter of floors. Have 

 you ever noticed — of course, the retail 

 store men have — how many different 

 kinds of floors there are in florists' 

 stores? That is because the owners are 

 all trying to get something new, some- 

 thing a little less common 

 than plain hard maple, or 

 linoleum. 



The Why of It. 



For the ordinary shop, 

 whether it be a grocer's 

 or a dry goods store, the 

 common hardwood floor is 

 good enough. But the flo- 

 rist, from the nature of 

 his business and because 

 he holds his line on a lit- 

 tle higher plane, must put 

 a covering on the floor. At 

 first linoleum seemed to 

 fill the bill, but it was 

 soon found that this did 

 not prevent the wood 

 underneath from warping 

 and buckling on account 

 of the ever present mois- 

 ture. Nor could these 

 floors, in the long run, be 

 kept free from a muddy 

 appearance that detracted 

 from the looks of the 

 store. The only way to 

 avoid these troubles was 

 through frequent refinish- 

 ^H' and recovering of the 

 floors. ' 



ihen the idea came, 

 ^ly not take all the 

 'uoiiey spent from time to 

 tiDie for refinishing and 

 fecovering, and, by payipg. 

 It out in a'iiump sum. pijlji 

 >n a high-clas» fl«# that, 

 ^oiiid be lasting? There- 

 lotc tile, mosaic and ter- 

 fa^xo floors came into use 

 >n flower stores. These, 



when they do nat crack on account of 

 the settling of the building, are lasting 

 and, when the cement does not wash 

 out as a result of the continual wetting, 

 present a good appearance. Employees, 

 however, find these unyielding floors 

 hard on the feet; even one's patrons 

 notice the difference in comfort. These 

 floors are also dangerous when water 

 has been dripped here and there, and 

 to prevent employees and customers 

 slipping and falling on the wet spots, 

 as treacherous as though oiled, rubber 

 mats must be strewn about the floor, 

 in front of refrigerators, at the door 

 and wherever water is liable to fall. 

 This has created a big demand for rub- 

 ber mats for florists' stores, but has not 

 solved the floor problem. There are 

 almost as many complaints against 

 these floors as against the old kind. 



Of late the storemen who are on the 

 lookout for a better floor have noticed 

 something new in this line and have 

 begun to ask questions about them. 

 These composition floors, as they are 



A Floor that Gives a Distinctive Tone to the Store. 



called, are new to most of us, though 

 well known in the building trades. You 

 may have seen such a floor in a florist's 

 store and asked the owner about it, 

 with an eye to your floor of the future. 

 The answers to many of your questions 

 you will find in this article, prepared 

 for The Eeview after a careful study of 

 floors for florists. 



Ck>st Considered. 



One of the first things that the 

 shrewd store owner asks about is, of 

 course, the cost. But in laying a floor, 

 as in building a greenhouse, the cost 

 varies, and the only sure way to know 

 what the bill will be is to submit speci- 

 fications. There is always present the 

 question of quality, as well as of the 

 freight rate, building conditions, the 

 presence of expert workmen, etc., all of 

 which change the figures one way or 

 the other. 



For the purpose of comparison, how- 

 ever, approximate figures can be given. 

 The hard maple floors, formerly found in 

 most flower stores, cost 

 from 12 to 15 cents per 

 square foot ^ at the start; 

 finishing and annual up- 

 keep raise these figures. 

 Linoleum, also largely 

 used, averages 20 cents 

 per square foot for high- 

 grade material, although 

 department store linoleum, 

 like department store 

 flowers, can be had at a 

 lower price. 



Jumping from the low- 

 est to the highest figures, 

 we find at the other ex- 

 treme tile and mosaic 

 floors. Of these there are 

 many kinds, at many 

 prices, but 40 to 60 cents 

 per square foot covers 

 ordinary quotations. Local 

 dealers handle these floors, 

 as a rule. 



Composition Floors. 



Combining a larger 

 number of good qualities 

 than any of these, and of 

 a medium price, composi- 

 tion floors are rapidly 

 coming into favor. Al- 

 though these are not at 

 ,J)resent generally well 

 known to those outside of 

 the building trades, they 

 are being used more . and 

 more. Already ' sotafe ' of 

 ''Ifcttni have founfl^plafles in 

 fhmsts' stores, and Have 

 given complete satisfac- 

 tion. They combine the 

 elasticity and comfort of 



