With the most votes this year, Chronic Taco is the 2010 Readers' Choice Decorative Project of the Year.

Having previously worked for one of the owners of Chronic Taco at a different location, Floor Seasons Inc. was up for the challenge of designing a fun and hip floor for the new location in Las Vegas. The first step was to remove pre-existing tiles. Next, the art was printed on vinyl and the star made in metal. A chalk line was used to get to the center of each piece of art for perfect placement on the floor. Then the crew stuck each piece down and cut through the vinyl, which was later pulled up to finish any lines that weren't touching or deep enough. After taping and filming the walls, the crew cleaned and prepped the floor. They started with the art because they were prestaining and presealing them before the field stain went down. This technique allowed for fewer flaws in the finished product. Next, water-based stain was used for the art to match a specific color the clients wanted in the logo.

After applying the Tinturas with either an airbrush or chip brush, the crew sealed all of the art so it would be protected from acid stain. Next, two coats of blue stain with blue ironite was applied to accent areas. After residue, the crew put down two coats of sealer in the field and three coats of sealer on the art. In between coats of sealer, they grouted all joints and art with a hot blue grout, making the art pop. The project then was sealed with four coats of wax, proving an amazing end result.

Designer's Perspective

Chronic Taco is a California-based taco company. They are on the move and Las Vegas was the first stop. We had done a job previously for one of the new owners that was art filled and fun. He had hired us to do a very fun and hip floor for the new Chronic Taco in Las Vegas. We were up for the challenge and started with designing a floor that would fit their design which was like X-Games meets Hotwheels.

After the design was approved, we got started on the tile removal, as the site was a remodel. We wanted to grind the surface down and get the elaborate art cut in early in the build to cut down on dust on finishes near the end. This also supported the amount of time it would take us to do the completed finished floor.

We had most of the art printed on vinyl and the star made in metal so that we were able to use it on other projects in the future. We used a chalk line to get the center of each piece of art for perfect placement on the floor. We then stuck each piece down and cut through the vinyl. After we pulled up the vinyl, we finished any lines that weren't touching or deep enough. We also used a Wasp tool from Engrave-A-Crete to do the small intricate corners.

About three weeks later, we returned for our portion of the build. After taping and filming the walls, we cleaned and prepped the floor> We started with the art because we were prestaining and presealing them before the field stain went down. This technique allowed for less flaws in the finished product.

We used Scofield Tinturas for the art as there was a perfect color the clients wanted in the logo to make a perfect match. After applying the Tinturas with either an airbrush or chip brush, we then sealed all of the art so that it would be protected from the acid stain to be applied. We then applied two coats of Kemimko Blue stain with blue ironite to accent areas. On our way by the presealed art, we would wipe off any stain with rags to ensure less damage to the finished product.

After residue, we put down two coats of sealer in the field and three coats of sealer on the art which was a win-win. In between coats of sealer, we grouted all joints and art with a hot blue grout. This made the art pop like crazy. We finished with four coats of wax.

The end results are amazing. The client was blown away by the detail. With a line out the door almost every day, we are proud to have been a part of this "art you can walk on."