Painted and Stenciled Floorcloths

Painted and Stenciled Floorcloths
by Royal Design Studios

Painted and stenciled floorcloths have a rich history - used in homes throughout England and North America prior to the invention of linoleum, they were often made from recycled canvas ship sails. For a quick and easy alternative floor covering for a trade show, Melanie Royals of Royal Design Studios created this amazing stenciled vinyl floorcloth using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ on the BACK side of some pre-cut vinyl.

You can create a similar project with either traditional floorcloth canvas, but we recommend using a better quality, thicker vinyl for use in an area that will get regular traffic. Supplies Used: Inexpensive sheet vinyl - thicker and harder for traffic areas White Primer Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ in the following colors:

Large Eastern Lattice stencil, Classical Border and Corner stencil Florentine Damask stencil.
Short-nap 4″ roller
Stencil brushes
Annie Sloan Lacquer

How-To
Apply 2 coats of white primer to the BACK of your sheet vinyl:

Roll on on two coats of Annie Sloan Graphite Chalk Paint™.

You can easily mix and match several stencil patterns on a large surface to create your own custom design. Choose stencil designs in a variety of scales with similar elements. For inspiration, take a look at the stylistic variety within a typical oriental rug.

For this example project, Large Eastern Lattice Stencil is used at the centerpiece, framed with the Classical Border & Corner Stencil. The Florentine Damask Stencil creates the lacy scalloped edge and corner detail.

Next, mark off the placement of your border - calculate the space needed for the outer elements and measure in from the outside edge.

For this project:

Measure in 14.5" from the outside edge (space for Florentine Damask "lace edge")
Mark with a chalk pencil; tape off outside the marks
Measure in an additional 4" for the border; leave 4" space between for placing the border
Burnish the tape to prevent paint from seeping under

Next, Roll on two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ with a short nap 4" roller for the border.

Measure to locate the center of the large inner rectangle.

Center one repeat of your stencil design element to ensure symmetrical pattern placement at both edges

Alternate stenciling with a brush for detail (we used a 2" stencil brush) or use a roller to cover larger areas more quickly.

Tape the stencil securely to minimize seepage. Chalk Paint™ dries quickly so you can go back over to touch up details with a smaller stencil brush.

Mark off corner blocks first, and center the border pattern to be symmetrical along each edge.

Here, the petal details in Duck Egg Blue are stenciled over the white border background using a dry brush technique with a 3/4″ stencil brush.

Position the Florentine Damask Stencil edge, taping off to protect your work on the border.

The size of your floorcloth will determine the number and spacing of the lacy petals.

Again, notice how she's taped off the black areas of the design while working with the Old White .

Melanie taped of part of the stencil design to fit a damask stencil "petal" in each corner - the perfect finishing detail!

Finally, Seal and protect your work with 2 two thin coats of Annie Sloan Lacquer, a matte, water-based finish designed to work with the Chalk Paint.

Have fun stenciling, and please share your projects with us! Just send them in to info@appleboxboutique.com and you will be entered for a chance to win our monthly Reimagined Monday contest!

This tutorial was originally published on Melanie Royal's blog.
To see more details visit her blog, Designamour!

**All images courtesy of Royal Design Studio

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