Linoleum is one of the most versatile flooring options available. There are literally hundreds of styles and colors to choose from, and pricing options that make this product workable for most any budget. Today's linoleum visuals offer overall effects that provide a more neutral background for decorating. Genuine linoleum is the original sheet flooring material, first patented by Englishman Frederick Walton in 1863. Although some people still call all sheet floors by this name, the absolute real thing is quite different from the vinyl floors that gradually replaced them a century later.