The Boxwood design. This design is stenciled using the center floor motif found in the historic May House in Woodstock, Ct. The colors used are Valspar's Leather Satchel (a warm graham cracker color) for the base color & black for the stenciled detail & the solid border. There is a dark chocolate aging medium applied around the edges & mottled throughout which gives the floorcloth a rich & varied tone. This design is neutral enough to go just about anywhere, but at the same time will add a very dramatic touch to any room. Now, some quick facts: 1.) The floorcloths in this listing are partially finished & will be ready to ship out in 2-3 weeks. many of my other designs are made to order, so make sure you check the shipping & handling times! 2.)These are hand-crafted, hand-painted, hand sealed (you get the idea) heavy weight canvas rugs. They last a very long time, & clean up easily. They are pretty much the most practical piece of art you will ever own. 3.)If you don't see a size that will work for you, message me with the dimensions you want. I can usually accommodate custom sizes. I can offer custom colors for $20 per color. I don't typically altar my designs/patterns too much, however let me know what you are looking for, & I may be able to work with you. 4.)Your floorcloth will arrive with in depth instructions on use, care, & installation (which is a little too fancy of a word since you're basically just sweeping your floor & laying it down). But nevertheless, you will have an expert in paper form helping you every step of the way. Okay, so now here's the deal with my floorcloths. Many of you who have been kind enough to click on one of my products have never heard of a floorcloth before. Or if you have, you are seeing the new version made of vinyl. They are pretty cool, but not really a floorcloth. in fairness, if I really want to call what I make authentic, then what I would have to do is wait for my man to come back from sea, tear one of the beat-up old sails off his ship, & then go through a pretty smelly & painstaking process that involves linseed oil only to end up with something not very pretty...This is the 21st century. My husband is an engineer. This is not an option for me. So really, floorcloth has become a pretty relative term. I'll tell you about what I make. My process is a compromise between the real deal that originated way back in fourteenth century France & the newest version that is vinyl fed through a printer. I start with heavyweight number #10 Duck canvas (ordered in large rolls, not torn off my husband's ship), I roll it out in big stretches & staple it to the floor. Here begins many, many layers of paint. The first layer shrinks the canvas, so that when I cut it to size, I can be fairly accurate about the size of your finished floorcloth. When I know for sure there will be no more shrinkage, I cut the floorcloth, give it a solid two-inch hem to ensure it will lay flat, & begin adding more layers of paint. Then comes the fun part: stenciling! The sky is the limit here. I do everything from Early American designs to Modern Farmhouse to Victorian Gothic to Cottage Core...you get the idea. I don't like limiting myself to one style. I live in Colorado where everyone is a transplant, so you see a little bit of everything here. Finally, each piece receives several layers of water-based polyurethane, chosen for its flexibility (super important for shipping these puppies rolled), & also non-yellowing. So, in nutshell, what makes my floorcloths different is that every step from beginning to end is done with my own two nail bitten hands. For thirteen years I've been honing my process & have had my floorcloths both in many, many private homes & also in many a shop (including Colonial Williamsburg!) Being the anti-Millennial (I still don't really understand what Ticktock is), my tools are nothing more sophisticated than a roller, a thousand different kinds of paint brushes, & a fifty-year-old iron I use for the hemming (seriously, they just don't make 'em like they used to). & what you end up with is something that has personality & character & that only grows on you over time. It has weight & substance. It becomes something more than a rug. It becomes part of your home. It warms up the atmosphere in a way that nothing from a big box store ever could. I'm not just blowing smoke here! Just try a placemat for starters. Put it on an end table somewhere in your home & see if you can stop
