Reprint from the New York Times, Wednesday December 30, 1964 “Imported Tiles Lend Rustic Air to City Home”

On July 14th, Norman Karlson opened his first showroom in the white-washed underground vault of a 75 year old townhouse located at 214 East 26th Street in Manhattan. He had assembled a range of hand crafted tiles from Italy, Spain, France and Portugal, all made with love and care. He brought together the beautiful and the practical as well as the elemental and the natural. Pieces were selected from around the world for his clients to place in their homes, to treasure and enjoy for the rest of their lives.

PHOTO CAPTION:
The New York Times, Wednesday, December 30, 1964
Country Floors, Inc., a new source for tiles imported from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, is in the basement of Norman Karlson’s town house at 214 East 26th Street. The white-washed brick underground vault is main room where tiles are on display. Prices start at $1.95 a square foot.

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Editorial feature – Norman’s kitchen

THE INSPIRATION
It all began when Norman (now Chairman of the company then photographer) purchased brightly coloured hand painted tiles from a small tile shop he discovered along the Arno in Florence. He used them in an editorial photo shoot for The Ladies’ Home Journal. The setting was his personal kitchen fitted with dark wood cabinets and a floor tiled with a flowery, open repeating design on a white background, in other words quite a novel concept in the mid-sixties world of kitchen design. He was stunned to receive nearly 500 letters from readers wanting to toss out their vinyl floors and asking where these organic floral patterns could be purchased; and as he soon discovered, tiles such as his own from the Amalfi coast were not to be found in Manhattan. The idea for Country Floors was born!

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