Stenciled Floors

I love All Over Repeat Stencil Patterns and have asked some very talented decorative artists to share some of their favorite projects with us here on Stencil Talk. I'd like to thank everyone in advance for your submissions. Keep them coming!

Today I would like to feature an incredible bath done by Rachel Morris of the Stencil Library. We have seen some of Rachel's cousin Helen Morris's work here, but this is the first time we are featuring Rachel's wonderfully creative work. The following text is in Rachel's own words:

I would like to submit my bathroom as my favourite stencilling project. I have sent 1 full room shot and 4 detail shots all featuring stencilling. This was a real labour of love. Just about every surface in the room, including furniture and some accessories needed to be painted and stencilled so it was a big project. Because I wanted to use lots of different colours and patterns in the room, I wasn't quite sure whether it was all going to work together until it was nearly finished. So I don't mind saying that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this one. But it all turned out better than I ever imagined so I am totally in love with it. Of course, it has really come into its own this winter - nothing better than lounging in a hot bath on a cold, dark winter's night.

I used a combination of stencils from our Japanese and Art Deco ranges. The walls, floor, furniture and lampshades have been stencilled.

My favourite effect is the stencilling done with gloss acrylic varnish on a matte surface for a subtle, textured look.

Stenciling We Love: Day 3

I love the use of pattern in this floorcloth that muralist and stencil designer Lynn Brehm created to showcase her 2006 collection of Mediterranean Stencils.

According to Lynn, "Everything is stenciled except the bird and mango. All of the stencils used are single overlay and can be used for raised plaster techniques as well. They are cut on the heavy blue mylar and can be custom sized if needed. This collection came about when I was working in the home of a client who immigrated from Iran — her house is decorated with many Persian motifs."

After I wrote that last post about Floorcloths, I returned to Gracewood Design's website for another look. I decided to write to Gwenith Grace Jones and Kenneth Wood Forcier in search of some answers to the many questions I had. Gwen Jones kindly took the time to answer my questions, so I could share with our readers here.

Painter Girl: What type of floorcloth design is selling most right now?

Gwen: We offer floorcloths in a broad range of styles from Early American through contemporary. In the past, we have sold more Early American themed floorcloths, with our Humphries and Edward Durant patterns being top sellers. In the past year though, I would say that we are really selling across our different collections fairly evenly.

These are two of Gracewood Design's top sellers:

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I wish I could sell floor cloths, but I have never had good success with this item. If you've ever made one, or owned one, then I don't have to tell you the benefits of a floorcloth. But, just in case you have never made or owned one, let me list just a few of their great qualities:

• easy to clean
• great for kids and pets
• instantly adds character to a room or hallway
• can be customized to fit ANY size or shape

I've made several myself over the years and currently use these 3 in my own home:

Now, I actually did not use a stencil for any of the 3 floorcloths above, but I sure have used stencils for many past floorcloths. Of course, I just cannot locate those photos at the moment! The hopscotch floorcloth, pictured on the far right, is from Kathy Cooper's book: The Complete Book of Floorcloths. Kathy also has a wealth of information on her website about floorcloths in general.

When I was doing a little research on the Internet about floorcloths, I came upon a wonderful website for Gracewood Design. Gwenith Grace Jones and Kenneth Wood Forcier have been creating some incredible floorcloths for decades. Gracewood Design uses many authentic stencils from the Early American period (1740-1840) for their Early American Floorcloth Collection, as well as their own stencils designs for their other floorcloth lines. An extensive gallery of floorcloths can be viewed on the Gracewood Design website and is well worth the visit!