i wouldn't ruin my floors with this, but i would consider putting it on my closet doors

No, it's not the same as a rug!

You have to glue wallpaper, a rug you just lay on the floor with a rugpad.

Imagine all the holes and tears if women walk around with their heels or the nails and paws of your pets?

Am kinda loving this...

bitdot- if you put down enough layers of polyurethane (and the reflection pattern in the photo definitely indicates that a ton of it was used), it will protect the floor from claws and heels. Actually, to be honest, I think this is kind of a brilliant idea to use in a smaller room like a powder room. And if at the end of the day you are sick of it, you can always sand it and cover it with something else. I think I might have to try this out... The Cole and Son Fornasetti line of wallpaper may be perfect for this- creepy yet really chic in the right context. But I would assume you would have to test the paper first to make sure it doesn't do wacky things when the poly dries/cures.

I'm seeing this all over the 'net, too, Abby, and was wondering when it would pop up here. I'm willing to bet you could adhere it to a plain 'ol canvas dropcloth, poly it to death, and come out with a spiffy new sort of floorcloth. Floorcloths are hot right now!

Hmmmm....you're giving me ideas. I was about to paint the horrid old linoleum in my pantry (no, it's too old & crappy to restore) and was worried about the rough areas. But this might work, and would be kind of fun. I'd only do it in a really small area.

i wonder how thick the polyurethane needs to be before the wallpaper is safe from scratches

Very cool idea. I imagine someone in the future wanting to remove it would curse you, but that is their problem.

bfootnovellista--what would you use to stick the wallpaper to the canvas?

I was already planning on putting down plywood and painting my bedroom floor anyway. Doing wallpaper instead of painting a pattern using a stencil, then using a ton of poly, would actually cut the project time considerably.
I'm assuming if someone could do this in a retail situation it can be done in my little bedroom that doesn't get half as much traffic.

Cringe-Worthy.

Cool idea, terrible execution. The above picture is hideous.

About 20 years ago people thought linoleum was brilliant too and look how that worked out. Have you ever tried to make linoleum look good after it starts peeling up at the corners and edges? Not to mention getting the scuffs off and cleaning the dirt that seems to actually be absorbed by the material?

I give this a big 'thumbs down' in an effort to save our children from our bad design ideas.

agreed, mlleErica...the idea is cool, but the wallpapered floor in the picture is horrible. A more modern design might have sold me though...

Oh how wonderful. Finally, one of the best lines in Flanders and Swann's Design for Living has come true! (from At the Drop of the Hat, released 1957, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders_and_Swann#Songs_on_At_the_Drop_of_a_Hat ). Wish I could find a performance on Youtube, but here, at any rate, are the lyrics. :)

Flanders: Now this song, "Design for Living":

Flanders: When we started making money,
Swann: When we started making friends,
Both: We found a home as soon as we were able to.

Flanders: We bought this bijou residence for about a thousand more,
Than the house our little house was once the stable to.

Swann: With charm...
Flanders: Colour values...
Swann: Wit...
Flanders: And structural alteration,
Both: Now designed for graceful living,
It has quite a reputation.

We're terribly House and Garden,
At number seven-B.
We live in a most amusing muse,
Ever so very contemporary.

We're terribly House and Garden,
The money that one spends.
To make a place that won't disgrace,
Our House and Garden friends.

We've planned an uninhibited interior decor,

Swann: Curtains made of straw...
Flanders: We've wallpapered the floor...
Both: We don't know if we like it, but at least we can be sure,
There's no place like Home Sweet Home.

It's fearfully Maison Jardin,
At number seven-B.
We've rediscovered the chandelier,
Tres tres very contemporary.

We're terribly House and Garden,
Now at last we've got the chance.

Swann: The garden's full of furniture...
Flanders: And the house is full of plants!

Both: It doesn't make for comfort,
But it simply has to be.
'Cause we're ever so terribly up-to-date,
Contemp-or-ar-or-y!

Flanders: Have you a home that cries out to your every visitor,
"Here lives someone who is exciting to know"?

No?

Well, why not... collect those little metal bottle-tops, and nail them upside-down to the floor? This will give the sensation... of walking... on little metal bottle-tops turned upside-down.

Why not... get hold of an ordinary Northumbrian spokeshaver's coracle? Paint it in contrasting stripes of, say, telephone black and white white, and hang it up in the hall for a guitar tidy for parties.

Why not... drop in one evening for a mess of pottage? Our speciality, just aubergine and carnation petals. With a six-shilling bottle of Mielle du Pap, a feast fit for a king.

I'm delirious about our new cooker fitment with the eye-level grille. This means that without my having to bend down, the hot fat can squirt straight into my eyes!

Both: We're frightfully House and Garden,
At number seven-B,
The walls are patterned with shrunken heads,
Ever so very contemporary.

Swann: Our boudoir on the open plan has been a huge success...
Flanders: Though everywhere's so open, there's nowhere safe to dress!

Both: With little screens, and bottle lamps,
And motifs here and there.
Swann: Mobiles in the air...
Flanders: Ivy everywhere!
Both: You mustn't be surprised to meet a cactus on the stair,
But we call it Home Sweet Home.

We're terribly House and Garden,
As I think we've said before.
But though seven-B is madly gay,
It wouldn't do for every day,
We actually live in seven-A,
In the house next door!

Posted by Juliet... "from At the Drop of the Hat, released 1957."

From Wikipedia... "...in the 1950s, linoleum was considered to be an excellent, inexpensive material for high use areas."

What’s up with people in the mid-1900’s wanting to use “inexpensive” (ie: cheep) flooring? If you’re going to put cheep flooring down how about just paint the floor?

No, no, a thousand times NO.

No thanks!

Can someone tell me where to get the wallpaper they've used on the floor in the first image - that black with pink roses is gorgeous and jsut what i'm looking for (not for the floor though!!!)

I think this is a great idea. I paper bagged my lower level cement floor and it turned out fantastic. And with the coats of polyurethane (hi-gloss the strongest finish) it has held up amazingly well. I have 2 old incontinent dogs that have ruined my living room carpeting. Perfect solution for me until they pass. So later I cover it with hard wood or carpet...maybe I'll keep it forever! If I was just doing a rug I would probably use wallpaper border for the rug border to make it look more finished. If I moved into a different house and discovered that under my carpet I'd be thinking the previous owners were pretty damn cool!

Re: Bether's comment. You must mean vinyl, and not linoleum. Linoleum and vinyl and entirely different things. Linoleum is made from cork and linseed oil, and the color is solid throughout the material. Vinyl can, and often does peel. Linoleum cannot peel. And vinyl has actually been around since the early 1930s. Linoleum is older than that.

actually if you use a floor grade resin it would seal and be virtually impossible to ruin