Painted Striped Floorcloth

Decorate a plain-Jane floor with a floorcloth you painted yourself. The technique is simple: just tape off stripes on a length of canvas, then paint and let dry.

What You Need

4-x-5-foot preprimed canvas (available at art supply stores)
Three colors of latex paint (We used light bluish purple, darker bluish purple, and lavender.)
Drop cloth
Straightedge or measuring tape
Pencil
1-inch-wide painter's tape
Paint trays
3-inch paint rollers
Artist's brush
Paper plate
Cardboard for scallop border template
Scissors
Small paintbrush or large roller
Flat-finish water-base polyurethane

Instructions

1. Lay the canvas on the drop cloth to protect the floor. Measure a 6-inch border around all four edges of the canvas and mark lightly with a pencil. In the center section of the canvas, starting from one edge of the border, measure and mark alternating 5- and 3-inch-wide stripes, lightly marking with a pencil.

2. Tape off the border, centering tape on the pencil mark and pressing firmly for a crisp edge. Tape off the stripes along the outside of each line, pressing firmly.

3. Pour the medium-color paint into a paint tray. Use a 3-inch roller to roll the paint onto the large stripes. Let dry. Pour the darkest-color paint into a paint tray. Use a small brush and the dark paint to paint the small stripes. Let dry. Carefully remove the tape.

4. Pour the lightest-color paint into a paint tray. Use a 3-inch roller to roll the paint on the border. If you don't have a steady hand, tape off the border before rolling on the paint to create a crisp inner edge on the border. Let dry. Carefully remove the tape, if the border was taped off.

5. With a pencil and a dinner-size paper plate, trace a half-circle onto a scrap of cardboard to create the scallop border template. Cut out the template with scissors.

6. Starting in the center of each side of the canvas, trace the half-circle cardboard template onto the border with a pencil several times, stopping short of the corner. Draw the corner scallops freehand to connect adjoining sides. Cut the scalloped border with scissors.

7. With a paintbrush or large roller, apply two coats of flat-finish polyurethane to the entire canvas, letting it dry between coats.