Jan 31, 2022: Earthen Floors

The house here has a floor made from red clay, chopped straw, sand, and linseed and mineral oils. When we first looked at the place, back in August, I first thought it was stained concrete, but when i touched it with my hand, it was warm and had slight undulations. I fell in love with it, although it needed a deep cleaning!

After moving in, I started researching earthen floors, and spoke with the builder who made this one. She said that the dirt and sand came from right here on the property. It’s packed in hard, soaked with oils, allowed to dry, then sealed with multiple coats. I bought a book (Earthen Floors by Sukita Reay Kimmel, a crafter from Santa Fe). Reading that has helped me understand both the long history of this amazing art, and given me the tools I need to bring ours back from years of neglect. It has some gouges and a few cracks.

This floor feels like silk to the feet. I love to walk barefoot on it. It has a soft, forgiving texture. But earthen floors, contrary to what you might think, are very tough. Spill stuff, drop things, drag furniture across it, and it won’t show a mark. You have to do some serious damage to hurt it. Once brought to full luster, it needs only a coat of food grade linseed/mineral oil annually to keep the surface shiny, waterproof, and hard. Cleaning is done with a broom and mop, using only water.

Originally, ours was a bit lighter, more brick red/brown. The years have added a patina, so it’s more like chocolate brown now.