Colonial Floor Cloths

More on floorcloth history.

Colonial floor cloths.

Floor cloths were a traditional covering used in many homes in the early 18th century. During john wickham s lifetime 1763 1839 a floorcloth was a term that referred to a traditional rug or fitted carpet substitute made from treated or untreated wool linen or cotton. Below is a sampling of locations where you ll find our work. Referred to by most today as floorcloths only remnants of these cloths remain in historical collections including colonial williamsburg museums.

The earliest colonial floorcloths were hand painted with geometric designs or fancy patterns on canvas material. Check out our floorcloths selection for the very best in unique or custom handmade pieces from our floor rugs shops. Etsy uses cookies and similar technologies to give you a better experience enabling things like. The painted canvas rugs also known as floorcloths or oylcloth were in wide use during most of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The tin bin sells early american colonial floor cloths that are hand painted with stencils in pennsylvania. We have created hundreds of cloths over the years for both private households and historic landmarks. Perhaps they used the remnant of a sail. Weston colonial floorcloth 3 floor design from weston massachusetts.

Midnight blue yellow ocher meadow green brown antique glaze price. Here are some photos of floor cloths. Floor cloths are considered one of the earliest forms of floor covering. Directly inspired by artwork and textiles in the extensive archives of the colonial williamsburg foundation this collaboration introduces a fresh approach to historic floorcloths an essential element in many 18 century homes.

In colonial times when people did not have the money to import a nice carpet they would make do by painting a floor cloth on canvas. Spicher and company s vintage vinyl floor cloths are durable and a cost effective way of upgrading and protecting your floors. What they needed was a piece of canvas and some paint and a brush. They served the purpose of adding style and color to a room while protecting wooden floors.

The floorcloth was initially viewed as an affordable alternative to the grander woven carpets of the wealthy or as an imitation of marble tile and inlaid parquet but came to be valued for its own sake.