Painting a Rug
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read our full disclosure policy.
The other day I told you about he great new rug I bought for Etta. And I was going to show you right away what I did with it, but we have been sick for a few weeks… yes I said weeks! Some stupid virus that stuck around in each of us for 2 solid weeks and lingered for a third, and I am worried it is about to make a second round. Hopefully not!
But anyway, back to the point at hand, I bought this great 6’7” x 9’6” indoor outdoor rug for Etta’s pink and navy room.
It was an amazing deal for a rug that size only $124 with free shipping from Wayfair. If you want to buy one for yourself here is the link Oriental Weavers, Caspian Ivory and Blue Rug. But the only problem was that it didn’t have any pink… So I had to get my DIY on to fix that.
I am sure you all have seen many great DIY painted rugs out there. I have featured a few painted rug tutorials form other great bloggers like these:
Black Chevron Stripe Painted Rug
![Painted Porch Rug for Blog 3 (600x450) (2)_thumb[2]](https://www.remodelaholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Painted-Porch-Rug-for-Blog-3-600x450-2_thumb2.jpg "Painted Porch Rug for Blog 3 (600x450) (2)_thumb[2]")
Painting A Rug
I took these DIY rugs to heart and decided to try a version of my own. Painting in the lines, on the rug I just bought! Before I got any paint out, I first tested the look with paper. I do this all the time… (including when I was testing out what it might look like to paint the back of my bookshelves black)
It works really well! For one thing I don’t scrapbook anymore, So I have a ton of this random paper to use up, and secondly, I can switch things up if I don’t alike it or not do it at all.
So it started like this, grab your really technical supplies, technically I only drew the circle once, then I folded the paper three times and cut out four pieces at once, then I used one of those as a template for the rest.
First I tried it just with pink on the center of the flowers (or snowflakes… pick what ever you want to call it)
Then I filled in the petals,with a second tone of the pink and I personally thought t was a little cuter.
You can see the half with just centers and the half with the petals filled in too:
Once I basically knew what I wanted I got my painting supplies together and got started with the back breaking part. I did switch the colors from my paper version to dark petals and light centers. This was a good choice (I wouldn’t have known this before hand), because the light colored paint dries stiffer to the touch. The coral, darker paint is soft to the touch. And since there is very little spots of the white paint, it turned out just fine.
*The outdoor rug with it’s looped pile makes painting it idea. I do not think this would work with a cut pile rug.
Supplies:
2 tones of pink/coral paint – Sherwin-Williams SW 6582 Impatiens Pink (center of flower and the walls in her room) SW 6586 Heart Felt (petals)
Small 1/2 inch flat paint brush
Start slow. I got the hang of how to paint the edges pretty quickly, but it takes a little bit of experimenting until you are comfortable. Slowly start filling in the petals, being sure to kind of work the paint down into the weave of the fibers.
*I think this shot (below) shows how you could simply add a tiny line of another color and still bring that color into your rug.
Almost done…
And done… with at least the rug. I have a ton more things to do in the room (like install the new flooring… if you noticed that I am painting on a concrete floor… But at least we are one project down!
What do you think about painting a rug?
UPDATE: For those of you wondering how it’s held up, the answer is GREAT! Some of the darker color has faded a little bit, but there hasn’t been any peeling or flaking. A big thumbs up from me!
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
Brilliant!!!
Jenny
http://Www.simcoestreet.blogspot.ca
Very cute! Love it =)
I would do it in a heart beat! Yours turned out great!!
Great idea. I don’t think I would have thought to do that or been brave enough. Love it!
I think that is the beauty of small projects like this. It can be a super small and simple change to tie it in with your color scheme! YAY!
I love this idea, but can you clarify for me what sort of paint you used? I don’t live in the USA so don’t know the brand; is it a fabric paint? Thanks
Kerrie, the paint Cassity used was an interior wall paint and it has held up well.
I love that! You made it so much cuter!
I never actually thought of painting a rug before, it came out so adorable!! I’m sure she loves it in her room. 🙂 Now you have me wanting to go buy a plain rug and make it a piece of artwork. 🙂
Krissy @ Mommy Miscellaneous
LOVE how you personalized it!! What a great way to get a custom rug in a lot less time! and thanks for the link to mine!! 🙂
I love your rug and how you personalized it! I would love to just paint a plain rug but I haven’t seen anything locally that would work. I’ve seen lots of recommendations for the plain rugs at IKEA but we don’t have one near us. Is there a website that says plain rugs that would be flat enough weave to paint?
Mary I got my rug from Wayfair.com. It is an indoor outdoor rug, it worked perfectly!
The rug looks fabulous! What a fun project.
THANKS Amy!
I think the pink is a vast improvement! Way to improvise to create what you wanted for the space. I wonder if I have the patience for it though!!!
It did take about 4 hours, and I will admit my back hurt a lot but I am REALLY glad I did it! Are you guys getting all settled in your house? We have to get together soon!
What kind of painting I should by for rugs?
Do you think I could use acrylic craft paint. and cover it with acrylic polyurethan spray.
Hi Linda,
Acrylic craft paint might work, even on its own. I’ve seen it done! Just search Google and Pinterest and you’ll see there are 100 different ways to paint a rug! 🙂
A few questions… Wouldn’t paint make the rug hard? And another question.. Would I then be able to vacuum the rug clean? Thanks. I have a beige and brown rug would love to add little purple to bring in the colour. Thanks.
Yes on the vacuuming, and since I worked the paint down into the rug a bit with brush (instead of just brushing a thick coat on top), it didn’t really change the texture of the rug much. Plus this is an indoor-outdoor rug so the texture is pretty firm to begin with. There are links to some other rug painting tutorials toward the top of the post, which can give you an idea of different rug painting techniques. Good luck! Send us a picture if you go ahead with it!
I used to own this rug. Man, what a fab idea!!
Thanks, Dana!
This is so freaking insane: I bought the same rug and am trying to diy it! I don’t want to change the color, just make it as waterproof as possible for my bathroom (I have pets with “issues”) and seal the nap as much as possible so I can just sweep it (cat litter tracking…). Did you coat it with anything? Do you think a layer of polyurethane sealer would be ok? Or plastidip? I really don’t care if it’s rigid – – want to make it as much like a floorcloth as possible.
What do you think?
I love the pink in with the blue! Perfect colors together. I’ve been researching how to paint on rungs and found a couple of tips that might be useful in the future. One tip was to use porch/deck paint. The other tip was to sand it after the thoroughly dries, then paint another coat and sand again. The porch/deck paint is supposed to last better and the sanding is supposed to help keep it softer. (I haven’t done this yet. I’m going to practice on an old kitchen rug that goes in front of a sink. It’s faded and a mess so it’s perfect to use for testing) I’ve also read that using a sealer will make the color last even better, but to me that would make it stiffer so I don’t know. One of these days, when I finish my other projects, maybe I’ll get around to testing it. (Like that might happen any time soon. LOL
Thanks for the kind words and the tips, LS!