I'm generally not a fan. I understand they have a purpose, but they can be so ugly. Generally I don't mind them outside a front door, but just not a fan of them inside the house.
The problem we have at our house is we don't have anywhere to put them outside. No front deck, no back deck and no landscaping in the backyard. One day we'll have all those things, but in the meantime we have lots of dirt constantly being walked into our home.
After much disagreement from me, Sean went out and bought us two doormats. One that sits just inside the front door and another that sits at the sliding door in the laundry. He did his best, and they definitely weren't as ugly as I was expecting. But I still wasn't a fan.
The other day when I was browsing pinterest I saw a couple of tutorials for chevron rugs and picnic blankets. Cue light-bulb moment! Seeing as I didn't like the doormats anyway, I really didn't have much to lose by giving them a coat of paint...
The first mat got painted a really cheerful blue colour and found it's way to the laundry....
The second mat I did in a slightly more sensible navy for the front door...
So, what do you think? Have you ever painted a rug, floor mat or picnic blanket?
I'm linking up with the Inspiration Board over at Homework 
That looks fabulous! I've never painted a rug before, but what a good idea. And I LOVE your front door. How original!
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat - in the winter time I always drag in all of the sludge, salt and snow but I can't bring myself to buy a hideous rug however, my floors are starting to take a beating.
ReplyDeleteThese look fabulous so come wintertime, I am definitely going to try this. What kind of paint did you use?
OveLoves
Isn't pinterest the best?? Great idea for the rugs! Love it!
ReplyDeleteI really like the navy one!
ReplyDeleteI loooove your front door, I'm looking at ones just like that for our next house!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, i love it! it is so cool! i've never tried painting a floor mat/rug before, but it sure looks like something i could do. :)
ReplyDelete<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/
Hi, Tamsyn! You've got tons of creativity in your blog and I'm admiring them all. Can you please share your creative posts at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop? Hope to see you there at the party :)
ReplyDeletethe rookie years - thank you, I love it too. Even more so now that I've frosted it
ReplyDeleteNatasha - I wish my problem was snow and salt rather than boring brown dirt! I just used regular craft paint :)
Paisley Print Shoes - Yep Pinterest is officially 'the best'!
Megan - thank you, I really like the navy too :)
Rhi - We do love it, it makes a great statement. The only thing we find is that because of it's design we can't have a screen on it. Which I'm ok with because screen doors can look terrible. It does mean that we can't have it open in summer though... A trade off I guess.
Mimi - Thank you! It was really easy, give it a go!
SJ - thank you, I'll come over and have a look :)
love it! the navy is my favorite. i love your front door, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Whitney :)
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of paint did you use? I want to make one!! SO CUTE!!! PInterest is soooo addicting. I feel like I am not doing enough projects when I look on there :)
ReplyDeleteAnd you painted the outer edges right??
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephanie! I just used regular craft paint (from the dollar store), it's only been a couple of weeks, but they're holding up really well. And yes, I painted the trim as well.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a view of your door from the outside of the house?
ReplyDeleteHi, the only photos I have posted at the moment are night time ones. They still give a good idea of what the door looks like from outside...
ReplyDeletehttp://maxandmeblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-16-ive-ever-spent.html
painting a rug is the best way to get exactly what you want for cheap! i actually painted astroturf to make it into an outdoor zebra print rug! {see pics on my blog--hittin' the bottle is the name of the post}
ReplyDeleteI love it Traci!
ReplyDeleteI saw this on pintrest, and got really excited because I have done a similar thing for a design project!
ReplyDeleteI used a poster board mask and spray paint! I did it two ways. Once I created an image in photoshop and printed it, taped it to the poster board, and cut the correct areas out with an xacto. The other time was typography, so i used a laser cutter to be more precise. I taped the poster board to the very edge of the mat and sprayed thin even coats of paint. It turned out awesome! (Especially of someone's face.)
Wow Jeanie, that sounds amazing. Do you have a link to it?
ReplyDeleteDo you find that the mat doesn't work as well where the paint is? These are so cute, very inspiring!
ReplyDeleteIt's not too bad. The doormat is made from quite a rough material, so the texture of it still comes through under the paint.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing idea. I posted a link to it on my blog's ode to all things chevron today.
ReplyDeletehttp://oliveobserver.blogspot.com/2011/11/mondaymust-crazy-for-chevron.html
Love these. I did a DIY monogrammed door mat a year or so ago and it's still holidng up quite well! http://followingthefryes.blogspot.com/2010/12/diy-monogrammed-doormat.html
ReplyDeleteWow, I really love yours. Such a great idea to monogram it!
DeleteI have done this before with a phrase on the front. It is best used inside though, because it fades rather quickly outside.
ReplyDeleteYour mat looks great Tamsyn! Love chevron!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brandi, me too :)
DeleteVery cute! I know what I'm doing with the backdoor mat : )
ReplyDelete