Arts & Crafts Magazine

Painted Utility Rug

By Vixenmade @vixenMade

So I've been needing a back door entrance rug ever since we moved in to our house 2 and a half years ago.   Last year, I bought a cheap utility rug for the summer (which is when the back door is used the most) that got moved into our garage in the winter.   So now that spring is upon us again, I needed a new rug.  Again. I didn't want to spend much and I wanted it to be as sturdy as a utility rug.  The drawback.. utility rugs are UGLY. So.. why not paint it right?
Painted Utility Rug
So we did!  And it was pretty easy. Here's what we started with:
Painted Utility Rug
Isn't it classy?  Um, no.
Painted Utility Rug
I opted for spray paint.  I recommend using a flat/satin finish.  Gloss tends to have a sticky finish. So I started with 2 coats of primer.  This was necessary because I wanted it a lighter color than the dark gray. Then 2 coats of the blue.  One coat probably would've sufficed, but I figured I'd use up my paint and be sure the gray wouldn't show through.
Painted Utility Rug
Painted Utility Rug
Then, using painter's tape, we stenciled out the diamond shape across the rug.  Since I wanted the majority of it blue, we covered the large parts with tape and newspaper, leaving the lines to be painted.
Painted Utility Rug
We spaced out our lines 6 inches apart.  The lines were an inch thick.
Painted Utility Rug
Once we had our shapes, we cut the tape at the corners.
Painted Utility Rug
Painted Utility Rug
Painted Utility Rug
After 2 coats of red paint over the lines..
Painted Utility Rug
We had this.
Painted Utility Rug
Apparently, I wasn't very careful and had some seepage.  
Painted Utility Rug
But I easily fixed it by spraying a bit of the blue paint into a pool and using a brush to touch up the spots.
Painted Utility Rug
Painted Utility Rug
It worked great. And that's all there was to it.
Painted Utility Rug
I love it!  
Painted Utility Rug
The colors are perfect and the pattern is better than I expected. I was unsure if I wanted a chevron pattern.  But I am so happy with it.  
Painted Utility Rug
The verdict:  I would do it again.  It takes quite a bit of paint.  When the outcome is something you love.. like this, than it's SO worth it!
Painted Utility Rug




Back to Featured Articles on Logo Paperblog