Rug Update {and Other Custom Rug Ideas!}

So as you know, since we carpeted the living room to make it more cozy and kid-friendly, one of our more popular DIY projects has been banished from the room… our signature painted rug.

While I love area rugs and the way they seem to ‘ground’ a room, I’m just not one to put an area rug on top of brand new fluffy carpet. So the rug now lives in our attic with this little seating arrangement.

True, it’s on top of carpet up there too… but it’s very flat/hard Berber carpet that’s kinda icky, and might as well be covered! Plus we don’t spend much time up there anyway.

As you can see, the paint has faded some. This project was a big question mark when I tackled it, and I had NO idea how durable it would be over time. I’m certainly not disappointed or regretful, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend spray-painting a rug that will be in a high traffic area. In this case, it was a super boring/plain clearance rug that needed some CPR, and I was so excited with how it turned out! And 1.5 years later, it’s not altogether unfortunate looking!!

Anyway, so I saw a really cool rug-painting tutorial on my friend Kara’s blog, and I wanted to share it… cause it’s so freakin’ awesome! And it seems like it will be a lot more durable and stand the test of time! Here it is! Click here for more photos and the full tutorial!

And for those of you that feel strongly that you don’t have a single creative bone in your body… there is a company called Vecco where you can design your own area rug! And then they send you the rug and a painting kit (complete with stencil, ‘rug paint’ and sealer)! This is so genius… they’re totally on to something! And since it’s paint that’s specifically designed for this application, along with a paint SEALER, it’s totally legit and durable for the long haul! Head over to their website and check out all the super cute design options! Here’s my fave…

Have you guys come up any other creative rug-updating ideas?