Rug Redo: Painting Rugs

Wow, I've been obsessed with rugs! I promise this will be my last post on rugs--for a while, anyway! Ever heard of painting a rug? Well, my curiosity got the best of me, and I tried it. Here's how it went down:

I started with this 4x6 jute rug in sage. I also started with the idea that this would be a little project that would probably only cost about $20. After all, it was only a 4x6 surface, right? Wrong!

To appease my navy mood, I chose a shade of navy. I started with a quart of latex paint (not even close to enough) just to see how this little project would go. As you can see, one coat could not finish the job. I ended up buying another gallon. The fibers of the rug soak up the paint. I painted on the first coat, and then rolled on the second coat. At this point in the process, I didn't know if this would work, but there was no turning back!

When the navy dried, the rug actually looked really good, so I decided to move forward with the stripes. I taped on the stripes and painted them white. I was going for a less formal, faded look with the stripes, so I only did a couple of coats of the white. It took hardly any paint.

I pulled off the tape, and I was quite pleased with the finished product. My little project: $65-$70. I should also tell you that I simultaneously painted another jute rug in orange, but I didn't have enough paint to finish it, so it's upstairs in a closet. I'm guessing it will eventually go to the dumpster! This is typical of a lot of my DIY projects--they end up costing more than buying, or they end up in the garbage (or both)!

Now, the question is, "Would I do this again?" Though I would not cover an entire rug in paint (it took FOREVER to dry), this technique would definitely work if you wanted to add stripes or other patterns to a rug. It would also be a lot cheaper! Important things to remember: use latex paint; use an outdoor, sea grass, or jute rug; and don't try to paint a green rug navy!