I recently re-did a nursery for my cousin. Part of the nursery was decorations. I wanted a cute rug to go under the crib, but everything I was finding was EXPENSIVE. So I went the DIY route.
Materials:
- A rug. I got this one on Amazon.
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- String ( please ignore the yarn fuzz stuck in my string ball…)
- Tack or needle- (and hammer if you need to get it through the rug like me 😉
- Marker
- Optional drop cloth for under it just in case
Step 1: Buy a rug
When I was choosing a rug, I really like the ones with a design, but I wasn’t loving the price tag. I wanted something with natural fibers, like Jute. After some consideration, I ended up going with a rug that wasn’t actually Jute, as this was a little kids room, and there would be lots of time on the floor playing. I found this rug on Amazon that looked like the natural colors of jute, but was much much softer than actual jute. It also didn’t shed like real jute does. I like that it came round, and the price was perfect.
Step 2: Prep
After getting the rug, I had to roll it the opposite way and let it sit overnight to help it lay out a little better. It was pretty thin, so it wanted to curl. I also tried steaming part of it that were stubborn. This is a great and easy to to fix edges of rugs that curl up and are tripping hazards too.
Step 3: Mark it out
In this step, I measured the rug and found the center. Since it was a circle I just folded it in half until the edges touched, and marked where the center was. I then used this spot to stick my needle. I used a larger upholstery needle because it was what I had, but a larger tack, or even a friend to help hold it. I tied one end of the string around the needle so that it formed a loop around it, not too tight or too loose.
The other end of the string was tied around a marker I was going to use to mark out the shape to paint. I found a marker close to the same color as the paint I planned on using, so that if I messed up at all the lines wouldn’t matter.
I slowly moved around the circle rug making a mark with the marker as I went. It created a large circle drawn on it.
Step 4: Adjust and Repeat
Next I lengthen the string just a little by untying it from my marker. I let a little more out sizing it up against the other circle I had just drawn. I then re-tied the string to my marker.
Then you repeat what you do in the last step, drawing another circle with the marker, but this time just a little bit bigger than the last one.
I wanted a bold stripe around the edge of the rug, so I made sure when adjusting that it would create enough of a gap to have a large area between the lines.
Step 5: Paint
This step is the most exciting, but also took the longest. I also double checked with a fabric measuring tape before I started painting to make sure the strip was the same size all the way around.
I chose to use the same paint that I used on the wall so that the colors would match. Plus I had some paint leftover from the accent wall project I had just finished. See more about that project HERE.
I first tried to use a foam brush to paint the rug. I did this because the rug had a little bit of texture to it, and I thought that the foam brush would help get into all of the grooves etc. It didn’t really work, and was taking FOREVER.
I then switched to using a small angled bristle brush that I use to cut in edges when paint walls etc. It worked much better, and held way more paint, making the job go faster. I had to switch the angle of my brush several times to get into the grooves of the rug, and make sure there wasn’t any blank or weird spots.
I thought that the paint would leak through the rug to the backside, as I was applying it quite heavily in many spots. Surprisingly though, IT DIDN’T! I painted in between the two lines I drew with the marker for a nice thick line. It only took about an hour.
AND that is it! So simple. I will check back and update on how the rug fairs after some use over time but I don’t forsee any issues. This was a quick easy DIY that I finished in just a few hours. Sometimes its nice to get something done quick. Would you try this? Let me know in the comments!
-Amanda