> But he still thought we'd be having linoleum on our floors...

Yes, but no. He's writing a story about a character (the automated house) that needs lots (relative to the story length) of explaining. "Linoleum" very quickly conveys "kitchen floor", helps anchor the story in details familiar to his readers - and most of those readers would know linoleum is quite flammable, so it also advances the plot.

Futurism is a heavy theme in most SF writing, but you shouldn't let futurism get in the way of good story writing.