The Artists
Early American Floorcloths makes hand made floorcoverings along with painted designs on floors and stenciled walls. We specialize in 17th & 18th century designs and patterns. We have performed extensive research by visiting historic homes and sites throughout the United States so that we may replicate and reproduce the designs of that time period. Our portfolio consists of not only early American designs but also contemporary, Victorian and arts & crafts designs. Early American Floorcloths prides itself on using the techniques and materials that were used in the 17th and 18th century consisting of sailcloth, oil paints, oil varnish and hyde glue.
We started our business over fifteen years ago in New England while we were in the process of decorating our colonial home. After researching the proper accessories for a colonial home, we found that floorcloths were an essential part of a 17th century colonial home. Dennis Belanger , being a self-taught artist decided to design and create a floorcloth for our home and a year later, Early American Floorcloths was born. Early American Floorcloths was established in 1995 in the restored barn of our colonial home. Fifteen years later, Early American Floorcloths has evolved into a business known for its accuracy of reproduction floorcoverings. Early American Floorcloths has been featured in national magazines such as Country Living Magazine, Early American Life Magazine along with a featured article on our New England home in Country Living Magazine. Our floorcloths grace the hallways and floors of many historic sites and homes throughout the United States .
We create our own stencils from historic archives and hand-cut each stencil which is included in our collection of our floorcloths. We constantly challenge ourselves to further our education and our curiosity of floorcloths to add to our collection, whether that be a new collection based on historic patterns or our own designs from various inspired sources.
Floorcloths are hand painted sailcloth rugs that provide an elegant, durable and alternative to your floor and can also be cleaned simply with soap and water. The very first floor covering used in America, was a heavy-coated sailcloth painted in patterns, which covered the entire floor. In the seventeenth century, from as early as about 1650, these floorcloths were painted in tile-like designs. Early American Floorcloths are custom made according to our client’s choices of colors, designs, and size.
Floorcloth Artist – Dennis Belanger
Photography & Web Design - Sheila Belanger
