A Custom Floor Cloth for an Artist’s Interior Home Design Project
One of my favorite aspects working in interior home design is creating the perfect floor cloth for artistic clients who have a clear vision. Case in point: Frances, a renowned ceramic artist who has traveled the world, desired a hand painted canvas rug for her living room.
This lovely Costa Rica home is full of color and art reflecting the owner’s travels. The living room floor is concrete with decorative stains of dark chocolate brown and antiqued turquoise. It was time to replace a white shag area rug but adding color for a floor treatment just wouldn’t work.
Frances had a clear vision for a floor cloth of pale beige (taupe) color to match her large modern sofa and incorporate black for a dramatic flair. Many of the pieces of art on her walls had a focus of the color black and the beige rug with black was a perfect way to draw those aspects together. The actual wave-like design idea, inspired by that of a ceramic water canteen for use when riding a camel, decorates the living room wall along with other treasures, is reminiscent of windblown sand dunes with soft, flowing lines.
Getting Process Underway and Underfoot
Together at her home, Frances and I drew the wavy lines to generate the design; I created a
graph of 8″ x 8″ to represent the 8′ x 8′ floor cloth; It was important to her that they replicate the lines on the ceramic piece (image above). Thereafter, in my studio, I transferred the design onto the canvas rug material with pencil, drawing the design square by square. To produce more of a freehand look, I stood on top of the rug and finalized the design by drawing sweeping lines to generate a flowing effect. (Click here to read more about the design process)
Upon installing the canvas floor cloth in Frances’ home, initially it seemed as though the rug might be too small for the area. But as it turned out the black at the edge of the rug expanded the design, carrying on towards the dark brown of the tinted concrete floor; the effect made the rug appear much larger. Additionally, making a canvas floor cloth with neutral colors enhances pops of color drawn from the room such as cushion covers or pillows.
Frances is delighted with the new living room floor cloth now a focal point in her interior home design project. The hypnotic design creates movement and life to the room, while incorporating aspects of the owner’s art and brings it all together for a unique expression of the artist herself.
For those who are a DIY type of visionary or an interior design professional, what ideas from your home interior designs might be well suited for a custom canvas rug? If you want to collaborate, please contact me.
