Simple Materials for a Sustainable Solution - Paper Floors!

It's amazing what one can do with some simple materials.

Rolls of brown craft paper and

Elmer's Glue-All...

...mixed in a 3:1 ratio with water.

I've been on a roll the past few years of creating a gallery of floors
in our home at the @gardenofeden using all different types of materials.

Flooring can be extremely expensive,
but with a bit of ingenuity and a personal touch,
one can create a true work of art with a few inexpensive supplies
that are less toxic and less depleting of our earth's resources
than manufactured flooring or carpet.

This time I chose the craft paper and glue to cover my surface
of a plywood subfloor.

I filled in the grooves, cracks and crevices in the plywood with Ready Patch
which is easy to spread and hardens to a durable finish.
I then sanded the floor to make it reasonably smooth,
thoroughly cleaning up all dust and debris.

No surprise a heart reveals itself when one is in love with the project at hand!

As I was preparing to do three large rooms with this paper process,
I called in a few of my girlfriends for a play date and shared with them my vision.

We tore the brown craft paper into pieces
(somewhere between about 6-10 inches each),
separating those with straight edges from those without.

We crumpled up the paper so it had a lot of wrinkles
then straightened it back out relatively flat.

We dunked the paper in a bowl containing the glue/water mixture,
wringing out the excess,
and then pasted it in an overlapping pattern to the floor.

We used the flat edge pieces against the wall
and other straight edges of the room,
and used those without flat edges everywhere else.

We worked diligently to be certain the paper was flat and
basically decopauged solidly onto the floor,
being sure there were no air bubbles under the paper,
or gaps between pieces.

This is project that can be done together with other detail oriented people
as long as the room is large enough
and you have plenty of space to move around,
though I have done other floors and surfaces by myself as well.

Most of the time required seems to be in the tearing and crumpling of the paper,
which we did in advance so we could flow with the glueing process without interruption.

It was a great way to spend time with friends in productive play,
sharing with them new skills,
and ending up with a beautiful and unusual floor surface.

The process of this application was extremely inexpensive.
The rolls of paper run about $11,
and a gallon of glue about $15.

The variations in size and shape
make for an interesting surface with lots of depth.
I used this is a base for further artistic elements
which I will share in an upcoming post.

Stay tuned for the next step in the process to see
this flooring masterpiece unfold.