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January 14, 2017 · 8 Comments

How to Paint an Outdoor Rug the Easy Way

Decorate· Outdoor· Painting

Completed outdoor rug

About a year ago, I bought seagrass matting for our front porch. I was on a tight budget and at the time, it was the best solution I could find. But the harsh Arizona sun and heat has not been kind to the matting. It is literally falling apart. I need something within budget, that can handle the sun, drys quickly in case it rains and looks great! Clearly, the best solution is to paint an outdoor rug. 

I’m a sucker for a deal. And a 6 X 8 indoor/outdoor rug for under $20 by any name is a deal!

Admittedly, the rug is thin and has no design but for my purposes, these are good things. The rug will dry quickly when rained on and no design means I can start with a blank slate.

Paint outdoor rug

I want to keep it simple so I’m only going to add a 10-inch border around the rug.

I have a bunch of sample paints in varying shades of gray left over from painting our living room. This is the perfect project to put those to use. By dumping all these grays together and I have enough paint without having the expense of buying more.

There’s nothing better than using product you already have on hand!

I thought about using a brighter paint color for the border…but that’s not me. When it comes to decorating, I’m not a bright color kind of gal! I tend to stick with neutrals so this light gray on dark gray pattern worked for me. I’ll add bright color with accessories.

If at First You Don’t Succeed – Keep Trying

I had planned to paint the border of the outdoor rug using a regular paintbrush.  Quick and easy – NOT.  The paint lay on top of the rug and does not give good coverage at all so on to plan B!

Plan B involved painting with a small stiff, cleaning brush – you can see the brush in the picture below.  This actually worked pretty well…but is VERY time consuming.  I am not going to spend over two hours painting this rug with a  brush – there has to be a better way.

I knew it was time to pull out my secret weapon, my Homeright Finish Max Paint Sprayer. If anything can paint an outdoor rug quickly, the Homeright Finish Max Paint Sprayer can. 

outdoor rug painting in progress

I put the rug in the backyard on the huge piece of plastic I use to protect the floor when I’m painting inside. The rug was still taped and I taped paper to cover the center of the rug. I planned to spray paint the border.

This was going pretty well until the weather stopped cooperating. Five minutes after I got everything set up, the wind started to blow. It blew the paper in the center of the rug, the plastic under the rug, the tape that outlined where to paint and the rug. It other words, it blew everything!

What was to be a simple project turned into a disaster. At this point, I just wanted it done.

There is Always a Way to Get it Done

Plan D is my last effort. If it doesn’t work, I am packing it up for the day.

I cut a piece of 3 X 5 plywood – large enough to act as a shield, but small and light enough for me to handle with one hand. I lined the plywood on top of the rug right where I wanted the border. Then I spray painted the border with my Homeright Finish Max Paint Sprayer.

The plywood acted as a shield and kept the paint from getting onto the center of the rug. I kept moving the board as needed. A couple of times, I had to wipe pooled paint from the bottom of the board because it started to leave a thick line on the rug. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to maneuver the board and the sprayer!

I don’t have any pictures of Plan D because I had to hold the board with one hand and the paint sprayer with the other. But I’m sure you can visualize how this worked. And it is very easy and fast.

If I had used a larger, stiff brush, it wouldn’t have taken so long to paint the border with the brush. So, if you don’t have a paint sprayer, use a big, old stiff brush.

Materials I Used to Paint an Outdoor Rug

I love how this rug looks on our porch! If you try painting your own rug, please let me know how it turns out! (This post contains affiliate links. If you like and buy something, I’ll get a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you.  That small percentage allows me to bring you free content on We Speak DIY.  For more information, read my disclosure page.)

  • Foss Hobnail 6 X 8 Indoor/Outdoor Rug – The granite and the chocolate colors are $18.88.  
  • Behr Satin Latex Paint (I mixed various shades of gray I had left from sample paints – but they were all in the gray family like this Behr paint!)
  • Masking tape – I was using painters tape but soon realized that the regular masking tape works as well. And it is a lot less expensive.
  • Large Stiff Brush – If I had started with a larger brush, I could have done the entire rug with the brush. But the small brush took too long so I ended up using the sprayer! And I’m so glad I did.
  • The Homeright Finish Max Paint Sprayer is fantastic!  It cuts painting to a fraction of the time.

Completed outdoor rug

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Paint Border on Outdoor rug

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Previous Post: « How to Build an Outdoor Bench the Easy Way
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. [email protected] says

    September 14, 2016 at 11:28 am

    Great idea! It would definitely cost a lot more for a bordered rug. I bet it would be easy to use a large-scale stencil to add some additional pattern as well. Also, I’m glad you shared all your previous attempts! If at first you don’t succeed… 🙂

    Reply
    • We Speak DIY says

      September 14, 2016 at 12:56 pm

      Laura – just buying a rug was my first choice but I’m working with a budget of $100 to redo our front porch….the rugs I saw cost as much or more than my entire budget! A stencil would be great…I may try that on the rug I bought for the patio. Let me know if you try it!

      Reply
  2. Lynn Spencer says

    September 14, 2016 at 1:59 pm

    Hi Teresa…brilliant! Makes such a difference with a simple border! Well done my friend.

    Hugs, LYnn

    Reply
    • We Speak DIY says

      September 14, 2016 at 3:06 pm

      Thanks Lynn – I was surprised at what a difference it made too! Teresa

      Reply
  3. Melissa Hatcher says

    November 10, 2016 at 4:51 am

    LOVE!!!! Sorry about all the plans; however, it helps me to know what to do when I need to redo my patio. I love the colors you chose. You could put a monogram in the center or just your last initial. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea you could paint a rug. 🙂

    Reply
    • We Speak DIY says

      November 11, 2016 at 1:26 am

      Hi Melissa! I was so close to putting an initial in the center but decided that since I had enough going on already and it was a small porch…I’d keep it simple and just add the border! Once I found the right method…this was so easy to paint.

      Reply
  4. debbie says

    February 27, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    Very impressive! It made the rug look so much better too

    Reply
    • We Speak DIY says

      March 5, 2017 at 2:54 pm

      Hi Debbie! Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

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Hi. I'm Teresa and like most, I wear several hats. I'm a wife, mother, friend and daughter. I love my life and the people in my life. I'm glad I get to share one of the things I love to do with you - improving my home by fixing what's broken, building what's needed, beautifying my surroundings and having fun while I'm doing it (for the most part!) I speak DIY and I'd love to talk to you!

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When you take a wrong turn with your partner in cr When you take a wrong turn with your partner in crime @lolitafiles and end up at your new favorite diner! #popandsonsdiner  #besties #adventures #fam #weekend
When your bread pudding is actually a mountain! When your bread pudding is actually a mountain!
I love making pizzas with my family. Our pizza ma I love making pizzas with my family.  Our pizza making is a lot like our life.  A little messy, not always pretty but delicious and a lot of fun! .
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