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This series is based on a classic black-and-white diamond pattern with multiple line borders. The border treatment changes to meet the desired size of each piece, while the diamond size is fixed for each version.  The floorcloths reside in a Philadelphia house, built in 1848 in what now is called Society Hill. No architectural changes have been made to the original 'simple' plans.  

This pattern is from John Carwitham's 1739 book, Various Kinds of Floor Decorations.  The pattern was chosen for the entry and back hall of the Bedford House, the main residence at the John Jay Homestead in Katonah, New York, which is currently undergoing renovation. 

John Jay occupied the house from 1801, upon his retirement,  to 1829 when he died.  Of all the Founding Fathers, no other filled so many high offices. John Jay served the State of New York as a principal author of its first constitution in 1777, and as its first Chief Justice. He served the nation as President of the Second Continental Congress, Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain during the Revolutionary War, and Secretary for Foreign Affairs under the Articles of Confederation. He was author and key negotiator, with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. With Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, he wrote the Federalist Papers, arguing for adoption of the United States Constitution. After the ratification of the Constitution, President Washington appointed Jay the first Chief Justice of the United States.

This floorcloth is based on another terrific stencil from The Stencil Library.  Is it Arts & Crafts or does it have more of a 70s vibe?  It is somehow both organic and stylized simultaneously.   The undulating vines, the leaves, the berries...simple, yet complex.  For us, at least, it is an enigma.