Gracewood Design Introduces Durable & Practical Alternative to Area Rugs to the Western United States Market; Practical Floorcloths/Canvas Rugs Featuring Artistic Designs Now Available Online & Through Retail Outlet.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gracewood Design, a leading American floor covering & floor treatment design firm, today announced the introduction of its floorcloth product line to the western United States market. The company sells its products worldwide through its website and has had substantial success domestically in many eastern states where the use of floorcloths or canvas rugs is more widely recognized. To introduce the floorcloth concept to the western U.S. market and increase awareness of the product's advantages the company has enhanced its online offerings and recently signed its first west coast retailer, Scout of Oakland, California, to publicly showcase the collection.

"Floorcloths are not only practical and durable but also extremely customizable," said Gwen Jones, owner of Gracewood Design. "They can be customized by size, shape, color and style to enhance any home decor. They also feature hypoallergenic easy-to-clean materials giving them a decided advantage over area rugs."

"Gracewood Design has compiled the largest floorcloth design portfolio available including their very popular Early American Collection based on floor patterns found in historic New England homes," said Paul Scott Silvera, owner of Scout. "I'm very pleased to have Gracewood Design products not only in our store but as part of our home staging offerings."

Originally created in Europe in the 1400's, floorcloths were used extensively in America until replaced in popularity by linoleum in the 1800's. Floorcloths are used to protect hardwood floors, provide a soft standing surface and add a decorative accent to a home. Gracewood Design floorcloths are made of heavy canvas which is primed, painted, stenciled and then sealed with multiple layers of protective, water-based polyurethane and a coat of paste wax. They are then double backed with carpet padding covered by a tough water-resistant fabric, which is adhered to the canvas, to prevent sliding, extend the product's durability and add a cushion effect. The company offers a large variety of design themes including the Early American Collection, Indonesian batik work, geometric shapes, Art Deco and Victorian styles.

Gracewood Design was formed in 2004 initially as part of MB Historic Decor, a stencil company run by Polly Forcier, a renowned artist and historian of Early American design. In early 2005 Gracewood Design added new design influences to its products and decided to form its own company. Owned and run by its founders Gwen Jones and Kenneth Forcier (Polly Forcier's son), the company leverages its decades of stenciling and stencil design experience to produce stylized collections of its floorcloth, hand painted floor and decorated concrete offerings. For more information on the company and its products contact Gracewood Design at 415-695-1480 or visit their website at http://www.gracewooddesign.com.

Gracewood Design and the Gracewood Design logo are trademarks of Gracewood Design. All other trademarks are owned by their respective companies.