Rug Painting Tutorial

Yes it's true, I painted my rug yesterday whilst Nick was at work. I didn't tell him of my devious plan, because I knew the look he would give me. I don't recall how the idea came into my head. But I've been wanting a beautiful decorative area rug in the living room for quite some time now. I've even spent hours on overstock.com looking at all the different options, knowing we wouldn't have the money for it anyway. We've been living with this off-white 5x8 rug that we got on clearance at Walmart... yep, Walmart.   For $17.

I found it to be very boring and solid in color, lacking the 'statement' that I wanted it to make. So I set out to give it a little boost in life!

Supplies you'll need:

• Boring solid color rug
• Stencil
• Can o' spray paint
• Painters tape
• Measuring device

Project total:  $0 for us! We already had everything!!

Using a large stencil we picked up at Hobby Lobby for a  nursery project, I started laying out my increments. This was a stretch for me, for I've become very dependent on my better half and his mathematic skillz. But I found that the stencil fit across the 5' side of the rug 3 times (with about an inch to spare... no biggie), and on the 8' side, 5 times! It wasn't a perfect fit on either side, but with a stencil, you have the benefit of having give on either side. Allowing a little extra room between increments, or squeezing them just a little closer together.

Since there are to be 3 stencils on the 5' side, I divided the rug evenly with tape going long-ways. Losing the width of the tape ended up being ok because there was some extra space when laying out the stencil 3 times. Make sense? No?

Slap on your stencil kids! I used a can of Rustoleum Satin Espresso spray paint we had lying around, but you could use any color, any brand. On the first couple, I took the time to tape and cover with newspaper, but I found that this was unnecessary, because there was almost no overspray if you're careful.  I was pleasantly surprised by how crisp the lines turned out!

Continue around the rug, being careful to use proper increments based on your measurements.

Until your DONE!!! Isn't it sooooo much better?

Here 'tis in our living room!

I absolutely love how it turned out. It brings texture and visual interest into our boring living area. And it's not 'crusty' like you might think!!  As for durability, we'll see over time. But if it starts to wear off, I'll just remind myself that this project cost me ZERO dollars and chalk it up as a learning experience.

UPDATE: it's been a week now, and the rug looks exactly the same as when it was originally finished!! Crisp lines, and great color. And after being lived on and walked on, the slight crustiness has diminished completely and it's soft and fluffy to the touch! You can feel no difference between the unpainted portions and the painted ones! Holla!!

When Nick got home from work, he loved it! And admitted that he would have been skeptical had I told him of my bizarre plans beforehand.

Have you guys ever painted something unconventional like a rug? ...or curtains for that matter? Was it a victory or fail?

Small print:  no babies were hurt in the making of this rug, with the help of a respirator mask and a 68 degree day. Can't wait to meet my twin girls!

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