hi y'all. i am super excited to share this fun little project with you. it's a do-it-yourself faux bois rug. i purchased all the supplies for this project for under $10 (YAY!) and it took me about 2 hours to complete. this is one of those ideas that was sitting in my journal for WELL over a year, glad to finally make it happen!
what you'll need: a tan rug (any plain & simple rug is cool. i purchased mine for $5 at Target.), 3 pieces of poster board, brown spray paint, a warm (& not too windy) afternoon.
step 1: draw a woodgrain pattern on one piece of poster board (although, if i were doing this over i would use contact paper instead of poster board for better adhesion!). drawing a woodgrain pattern is surprisingly easy, the trick is the include lots of 'knots' in your wood so that it doesn't look like zebra stripes.
next is the most time consuming part of the project. cutting out and adhering the mask over your rug. if you use contact paper for your mask you will probably have a more difficult time adhering it, but i much cleaner/sharper line when you spray paint. if you choose to use poster board just remember to take down your edges and tape down any parts of the paper that are bubbling or sticking up with a small roll of tape. when you cut out your pattern you will basically just be using one 'row' and throwing one away as you are applying it to your rug. it's an easy pattern once you get started!
next up, spray painting. take your time and get a nice even coat all over the rug. examine it closely and make sure you don't have spots before you pull your mask up.
this step took me about 7-10 minutes.
let it dry for about 5-10 minutes and remove your masking. ta-da!
(thank you erin for taking photos & for posing with your cute red shoes!) XOs. elsie
119 Comments
Elsie, this is really awesome!!! I think I’m going to try this too! Thanks for sharing this.
It’s clever and unique, I love how it came out. Thanks for sharing!
Such a great idea! I would love to do a bigger version for my room…
Love it! Just the kind of thing I need for my matless house! x
Brilliant! IT turned out fabulous!
CUTE!!!!!
It’s so cool! It’s one of my projects for next year when it’s warmer again :-)!
Genius! Totally doing this!
it’s so simple & looks gorgeous!
thanks for an inspiration! (:
have a nice day, miss Elsie!
XOXOXO.
Wow! That is really easy..
Coooool ! I just wonder if it can be wash or support wet feet ?? Does this paint resist to the washing machine ?? When your rug is dirty I guess you don’t throw it in the garbage ??!!! I’m sorry to ask such stupid question ahahahah !
That’s amazing! I don’t know how you think of these things, but I’m so glad you do! 😀
That’s really cool!
ooh, i love the rug! once my current one is ready to go to rug heaven i’m definitely gonna give this a go!
if the giveaway were that cute door mat that’d be rad!!!!
xo.
this is great!!! Thanks!
your outfit is adorable in this post. & thanks for the project! I have been hooked on woodgrain patterns since i saw that super cute journal in the red velvet shop.
This is really cool! Thanks for sharing.
So awesome, i think i may give it a go this week end 😀
awesome!
Very cute, Elsie!
ok–now this is my fave ok maybe everything you make is my fave.
I love love this idea so easy. I will be doing this for sure—just need a rug and paint___can you say thrift store? yahooooooooooooooo 🙂
This is such a great idea! Will have to do this week. And I was curious, do you by any chance ship things to Scotland? I uprooted from Springfield to across the pond, but I still really like your stuff! 🙂 Let me know. Have a superb day!
how sweet!
What a lovely project – I definitely have to try that. Do you think it’d work to paint the stripes with a brush instead of spraying?
Sandy
I never would have thought of that. Pretty cool.
wow! awesome idea- i spray painted striped on white pants for my halloween costume and it worked so well. <3
Elsie this is such a great idea! I really hope you’ll be doing more tutorials. It would be interesting to start a Flickr group so we can see everyone’s interpretation of your tutorials!
cute idea!! and i agree, i like the tutorials.
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous !!! I love your blog !
i totally LOVE that idea and can’t wait to try it out!!!
this is totally thrifty…don’t you love having moments of great inspiration like this. You stand back and look, and feel like a rockstar!
i LOVE this, totally doing it!!
That looks fantastic and pretty easy to do! Can’t wait to try it out :o)
DIY Woodgrain Rug
Cool!
Thats really great
What a great idea! I love it!
I adore this idea!!! thanks for the tutorial! You rock!
Holy cute Elsie!!!
LOVE THIS!
totally cool. Would look great in a variety of colors too!
Gah I love this! Found my project for this weekend! loves <3
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
what do you journal about? i am feeling so uninspired lately…in a rut. bleh.
love it. 🙂
awesome, yay! it’s so fun when journal pages finally come to life after lots of waiting!:)
thank you for sharing! you sooo totally rock!! LOVE YOU!
thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Wow! That looks great!
SUPER CUTE!!!
You are always so inspiring! 🙂
You could also spray the back of your posterboard with spray adhesive to make it stick down to the rug for less over spray. Looks great anyway!
Totally adorable project! 🙂
Thanks for the frequent and very fantastic updates! I LOVE your blog.
*Cute mat*.
I love making stencils, but I’ve never thought to use one on a rug. I’m not sure how well the spraypaint will hold up with the rug. I suppose it depends on wht the rug is made out of. Perhaps using acrylic paint mixed with some textile medium might make it hold up longer. Time for me to experiment!
such a clever idea!
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Such a great idea, thanks for sharing! Just a thought, depending on what type of material the rug is made from you could try the freezer paper method – best when it comes to clean lines imo. It would depend strictly on the material…i.e. you wouldn’t want something to melt from the iron!
genius. I love those red shoes, btw.
so so so in love with this!
I am totally loving this idea! And super easy, too! Thanks for the inspiration!
Pretty Great! I actually like how the overspray looks like shading.
I totally dig this rug! I just bought my first home, and now I’ll have a great way of welcoming my guests! Thanks!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this…i am definetly going to try this!!
ack!! cutest and most amazing project EVER!! I’ve been needing a new little outdoor rug for my back and this would be a great idea and easy enough to re-do over and over again, when the elements distorys it. THANKS
love <3
genius.
i <3 this!!!! i want one for my new apt!
This is an awesome idea! But I’d be afraid that the spray paint might come off. I’ll have to try it out.
total awesomeness!!
Fantabulous!!
Going to do when I get some extra monies!!!
very cute!!! to give it better wear, you could probably seal it with poly. or even do it on canvas (for a bigger rug) and seal with poly as well, and also use rug tape so it doesn’t move all over the place. 🙂
That is so creative !!!! thanks for sharing
*goes out and buys a tan rug* Let’s do this.
YES!!!
i’ve been spray painting t’s with contact paper patterns since my aunt showed me how at a family reunion a few years ago.
i loooove that you did the rug! totally going to do that one!
thanks lovie!
xo.
Don’t have a welcome mat, I’m gonna have a woodgrain one soon though coz I gotta do this!!!!
It’s gorgeous! Thanks!!
That is too cool!!!!
aw, this rug is the cutest! i recently made a woodgrain-engraved coffee mug in ceramics class and can’t help thinking about covering everything in woodgrain print!
Love it! Really creative. (:
Great idea!
very, very neat idea.
So, so clever. Love it!
So cute!
This blog is blog heaven- always something new, always something cute, always something inspiring. Love!
cute! i really like this because its so cheap and easy! you could make all sorts of cute sprayed rugs!
very nice 🙂
This is so neat! i LoVe this idea! You are so inspiring!
<3
It is gorgeous! I love it and must make me one soon!
oh goodness. this is so stinkin’ cute. I can’t wait to make this!!!!
<3333
genius.
this is awesome! 😀
This is fabulous. Will definitely be taking more of a look around now 🙂
Thanks for showing this creation off!
thank you for sharing this! what a fun little project to take a break from all the holiday crafting and we need a new rug… so perfect!
Wow, this is very smart !
Thank’s for this tip
//Eriiza
http://eriiza.webblogg.se/
just found your blog and I LOVE IT!
This is a great little rug for the entryway for fall. You always have great ideas.
love this idea wondered if you could just put masking tape straight onto the rug not sure will have to have a go on something smaller to see if that would work. I love you blog it makes me smile every day thankyou. Marina
this
is
genius.
i can’t wait to try it.
ps, how cute is erin.
this is wonderful!
I freaking love that idea! I’m gonna try it out this weekend.
This is supah – cute! I think the contact paper tip is great. I’ll be giving you a shout out on my Friday Faves this week 🙂
Hi dear~ is the spray paint water-proof? 🙂
This is so cute and just fabulous for fall. Thanks so much for the how-to, I’ll be linking.
SO great! This is Exactly what I was looking for, to perk up a boring tan rug I have! Thank you so much…so clever!
xo
Melissa
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Awesome Idea!
can’t wait to learn more about the online class!!!!
I don’t got your point. But thank you all the same.
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Our brains function as sorters, organizers, catagorizers, a file cabinet if you wish. When trauma occurs and drugs are introduced the assorted thoughts, images, wishes, memories etc. meld to produce the fantastical. Your dream is a lovely perfect example of that phenomenon.
nice idea
Nice idea! I bet you can earn lots by buying lots of plain old rugs like these, then put up a store in front of your home with these babies all lined up! You shouldn’t stop with brown either! Imagine this design on different color combination – it would be stunning!
-Max Clarison
That’s awesome!!
Love it! contact paper is a good idea, but I bet you could also cut out design with xacto knife leaving a solid boarder (so you don’t have to rearrange the stips) and use spay adhesive to temporarily stick it on the rug while you spray. I’m definately going to try this! Thanks for the great idea!
That does look great! My only question is – how does it weather? How long will it stay in good condition?
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zhanna krukovets – haha. greek isldnas pet your head, great. start shopping for greek goddes dresses. i so like the wood bowls. i’d have some. also i WOULD like to have branches coming out of my floor. true story
Hi Jessie! I’m new to your blog (thanks to your feature on 6th Street) and I am love, love, LOVING evrynthieg about your home!!! I’ve been dying to create my own chevron rug and I reeeally like how yours turned out. Just one quick question though did you paint the white portions or just leave them? I see that the rug itself was white to begin with so I’m just curious if it was white enough to leave or if that portion needed to be painted too. Thanks for your help and congrats on such a great feature! Meg
Laurie – Thank you so much for sharing these Marcy. The periucts are beautiful and believe me folks when I say this is just a very small sampling of what the photos were like Totally amazing!!! Thanks again for capturing Paul and Chels’ day so beautifully.
Cool!I can’t wait to try it!