It’s art for your floor! Floor cloths are painted canvas rugs that have been used for centuries to bring life and beauty into homes all over the world. Some of the first floor cloths were made from ship sails and were painted to look like tile flooring. Nautical and tile themes continue to be popular floor cloth motifs to this day.

My floor cloths are made from thick cotton duck canvas that is primed, painted, and sealed. The result is something like a flexible linoleum mat that is a durable, easy-to-clean covering. They can be used for porches, kitchens, or even under pet food bowls.

Very durable! The paint and sealant are fade and weather resistant so outdoor installations are just fine! The floor clothes can be used in high traffic areas such as the kitchen or as a hallway runner. If using as an under-desk mat, please note that a rolling desk chair will result in some wear to the finish over time. Personally, I think this adds to the character!

Floor cloths naturally change as they age. Over time the fabric will settle, which should eliminate any bumps, creases, or wrinkles. This natural settling will also make the hem and seams more visible. I try to use the design to minimize the visibility of hems and seams whenever possible.

Yes! I can match almost any color with a color sample!

Pricing roughly corresponds to how long it takes me to do the work. Simple designs that involve large blocks of color are very fast and easy to create, while designs with lots of hand drawing, difficult drafting layout, or tiny non-stencil-able patterns take an enormous amount of time to make them look good.

Check out the Floor Cloths page for some examples of different complexity levels.

Some not-so-obvious things that add complexity:

• Thin lines between colors. I normally do not paint a background color with another color on top. This is because the paint I use does not adhere as well to other layers of paint as it does to the primer coat. This results in a lot of fiddly infill between different colors to achieve a more durable product.

• Curves. Spirals and sinusoidal curves are extremely difficult to correctly lay out with drafting tools. I can do it, but it adds complexity and cost to the process. Circles are comparatively easy and I love an excuse to bust out my giant drafting compass!

• Repeated stencil patterns. Stencils are a great time (and therefore money!) saver, but repeated patterns are difficult to lay out and often require significant time for touch ups. That being said, a stenciled pattern will usually be cheaper than a hand-drafted or drawn pattern.

I love art. Art should be everywhere, including the floor! What do you do when you’ve filled every available space on your walls? Put art on the floor!

Floor cloths have the added benefit of being practical. They can be used to protect hardwood flooring in high traffic areas, under pet bowls, or even the litter box! Use a floor cloth to hide worn spots, scratches, and dings, or cover up bare wood or composite decking in outdoor spaces.

I make all kinds of art, including traditional oil painting, watercolor, and concrete sculpture, but I think floor cloths are especially cool and unique. Also, working on geometric patterns on such large canvases allows me to use the hand drafting skills I learned in engineering school. That’s something I would never have the chance to do in my day to day work due to the ubiquity of CAD programs.

I love green!

My name is really hard to spell, and I had to call this site something. Minimum Green is a jargon term I use all the time in my day job as a traffic signal engineer. It’s easy to spell and the domain name wasn’t taken!

Minimum green is a term for the shortest allowable duration of the green interval at a traffic signal. So if you’re cursing that left turn signal for only letting one car though before turning red, chances are it was using the minimum green time.