Update: I have had this rug in my laundry room for three years and it is holding up great!
When Jordan and I overhauled her basement and made a laundry area, one of our projects was to make a large and cushiony area rug to add some pop to her painted concrete floor.
She had “pinned” some photos of rugs that started out as these colorful play mats for children. A package containing four squares can be purchased here on Amazon or at most home improvement stores for a few dollars. We bought two packages, and when we got them home, we decided the size by connecting the squares and letting the floor try it on for size. A rug two squares wide and three squares long would work. We then divided the rug-painting process up into several mini-steps.
She kept telling me it would be simple, but I had my doubts. Once again, she was right. That’s my girl!!! First, we applied several thin coats of basic primer and let each coat dry thoroughly before adding another. After the primer dried for a couple of days, we determined how wide we wanted each stripe to be. She wanted black on both ends, and our mat was 63 inches long. We did the math and decided that there would be nine stripes and each one would be seven inches wide. I then used a yard stick and a level to draw lines onto the primed mat using a pencil. The nice thing about this is that you can make your stripes any size and color you want.
Then I taped off the sections making sure that I pressed the tape down really well. Any leaks could ruin the final result. The paint was slightly sticky, so I slowly moved the roller back and forth.
I used a teeny can of Rustoleum latex glossy black paint. She let it dry for a day and then sprayed a clear sealer on top. Again, she let it cure a few days before stepping on it.
I was most concerned about getting the stripes straight and the math right, and you can see that I succeeded on both counts.
This little project was the perfect way to make her basement floors get some personality. Hmmm. For some reason I’m hungry for Oreos.
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That rug is totally awesome! I think I might try one for my deck!
This is such a fantastic idea. I love the graphic pattern of the rug, and it is the perfect material for a laundry area. Definitely pinning this!
Angela
Great ideal and looks easy. Thanks for sharing.
Sandy
What a great idea. I have a dungeon of a laundry room basement that could use something like this. Thanks for the tutorial!
great idea!
what a fun idea
Great idea and it looks amazing!
Hi ladies, This is such a great idea for a rug and I love how it turned out. Thank you for sharing this project at the Open House party.
xx, Sherry
I love your hand painted rug…what a fantastic idea. Come link up to Centerpiece Wed and share this idea with us.
Karin
Found you on Open House Party Thirsday. What a wonderful idea and what a neat result.
What a great idea. Nice job too! ~Kristie
What an original idea on making a mat rug. I like the idea of cushion under my feet while I am standing in place. This would be a great idea for my laundry room as well. Nice results!
I like the scarf Mom is wearing in the profile photo.
Love it! How is the paint holding up? Is it chipping at all?
Kelli,
So far so good no chips! I think letting it cure and spraying with a clear protective coat is the key.
Cheers!