Abstract: A design roller sleeve has a plurality of absorbent strips that wrap about the axis of a paint roller in a helical fashion. Each of the strips has an array of flaps, in which large and small flaps are preferably alternated, extending outward from a backing portion of the strip. This roller is intended to be used for applying a visually random pattern to a uniformly colored and relatively wide horizontal surface such as a concrete driveway or patio When used for this purpose the design roller sleeve is loaded with paint and then spun within a spatter-box to remove excess paint before rolling a partly colored swath on the surface. In some cases the spatter-box is made on a job site by tearing away part of a lid of a shipping carton previously used to transport a design roller painting kit.