Look!: Wood Floor Decor

For those who love bold and colorful graphics, Orla Kiely's flagship store in London is pure eye candy. Even the floors in the Covent Garden shop are worth ooohing and aaahing over.

Any suggestions on how to do something similar at home? We thought it might be a neat way to disguise a bit of damage, discoloration or scratches.

Our initial idea: Use a wood-burning tool to outline a pattern on the floor. Then paint or stain the pattern to complete the look.

Comments (5)

I love this. I'm a huge fan of the inlaid floors that you find in older homes. It adds an extra layer of craftsmanship that I appreciate.

I have seen a technique that uses an exacto (or something similar) to create an outline and then stain the pattern with a contrasting color. My exacto skills would dictate straight lines only, but that's a different problem.

oh god i love that store. i spent about an hour or maybe more in there when i was in london (and it's really not that big). i think they were starting to worry that i would never leave!

Though I love all things Orla, I would be very scared to try this project out on my floors! Though I do love the end result.

I was looking into doing something similar for our new showroom. Initially we thought of laser cut inlays (like you see in old houses) but i thought a cheaper way would be to somehow burn/ paint /spraypaint the floor and then apply a coat of lacquer to protect the design. We'll be trying this out in the next month and will post the results on our blog http://www.mckayflooringblog.com