Walking on Sunshine

Rescue your floor from a chronic case of the doldrums with this recipe for a bright, summery floorcloth.

Cost: Under $50

Time: A day

Skill Level: Beginner

We've included the basic technique for making your own floorcloth. While our design consists of sunny yellow stripes on a white background, you could do any design in colors to match your room.

• Preprimed heavy artist's canvas or floorcloth canvas (available at art stores), cut to 6 feet x 54-1/2 inches
• Hot-glue gun and glue, or fabric glue
• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Yardstick
• 2-inch-wide low-tack painter's tape
• Foam brush
• Latex paint (2 colors; light and dark yellow)
• Nonyellowing polyurethane

1. Finish Edges. Fold under all the edges 1-1/4 inches and glue in place. (Cut away excess fold at corners as necessary.)

2. Measure and mark. With a pencil and a tape measure, mark off intervals for the stripes at both short ends of the canvas. Beginning on one end, make a mark at 6-3/4 inches.

3. Tape. Starting from the left side of the canvas, tape along the right edge of the first line. Then, follow this pattern of taped and untaped intervals: 1-1/2-inch interval, 2-inch tape, 5-1/2-inch interval, 2-inch tape. This pattern repeats across the rug, until another 6-3/4-inch interval remains on the opposite side of the canvas. Seal the tape edges with a credit card.

4. Paint. Using a foam brush and latex paint, paint the wide stripes light yellow and the narrow stripes dark yellow (top photo). When the paint is dry, remove the tape (bottom photo).

5. Make the border. Mask off a 1-1/4-inch border around the entire canvas; paint with dark yellow paint. When the paint is dry, remove the tape.

6. Protect. Top the completed design with two coats of nonyellowing polyurethane to protect the surface from damage.

Artist's preprimed canvas comes in varying thicknesses. The standard weight costs about $7 per yard and is 63 inches wide. Heavier weights, which may work better as floorcloths, start at about $12 per yard. When buying, be sure to inquire about the different thicknesses so you can get the one that will best suit your floor.