How To Make Your Own Spray Painted and Stenciled Rug

As one of 30+ bloggers participating in the Thrift Store Décor Challenge this month, I am excited to share this painted and stenciled rug that I found at a thrift store and how I transformed it into a bright, decorative  piece that now sits on my front porch. When you get to the bottom of this post you will be treated to some serious creativity so please hop around to each blog and get to know us.

Thrift Store Decor Upcycle Challenge


Have you ever had a project you just couldn’t give up on? This spray painted and stenciled rug seriously challenged my creativity over the weekend but I had a vision and I just couldn’t let go of it.

Make Your Own Spray Painted and Stenciled Rug

I have been working on sprucing up my front porch for summer and I needed a rug but I didn’t want to spend the money on something that would more than likely get wet and ruined over time. That is when I came up with the “brilliant” idea for a spray painted and stenciled rug using left over supplies from other “brilliant” ideas and this ugly runner I picked up at the thrift store.

Before and after pictures of my spray painted and stenciled rug

I already had the ugly rug, the spray paint and the “brilliant” idea of a spray painted and stenciled rug but things weren’t as easy as I anticipated. I thought I could just spray paint a nice even coat of white and prep the ugly rug for stenciling but that wasn’t the case. The rug was a dark green and it was soaking up the paint like a sponge.

How to make your own spray painted and stenciled rug

Next, I decided to try a paint roller and apply a coat of leftover latex paint but I could still faintly see the ugly rug pattern through the white paint. So I added a second coat of white latex paint and once again I could still faintly see the ugly rug pattern. {Apparently, one coat coverage only works on walls. Who knew?} By this time I was ready to quit and go buy myself a rug but I persevered and decided to go forward with the stenciling as most of the ugly rug would be covered by the stenciling.

Spray painted and stenciled rug using Krylon spray paint

I had two partially used cans of Krylon spray paint {affiliate link} in my favorite aqua color called Surf.  My husband made me lay down a leftover drop cloth from when I stenciled and reupholstered a chair because he said I am a messy painter and he didn’t want aqua colored grass. {Who wouldn’t love some aqua colored grass?}

How to make your own spray painted and stenciled rug using Krylon spray paintAlas, the stencil did cover most of the faint pattern of the ugly rug and I am quite happy with the outcome on my DIY spray painted and stenciled rug. Although it is not perfect this rug serves it’s purpose and makes a grand statement on my front porch with a nice punch of aqua color that ties in well with my repurposed picture frame  and my upcycled chair planter. The best part is that I recycled, repurposed and reused items I already had from other projects and it only cost me time….in my book it was time well spent.

Spray painted and stenciled rug sitting on my front porch.

Thrift Store Décor Challenge

As I said above, I am participating in a thrift store décor challenge with 30+ bloggers. Here are the rules and the links to my fellow creative friends. Make sure you hop over and take a look at their thrift store finds.

The Rules:

  • Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
  • There’s no monthly theme.
  • There’s no budget to stick to.

Meet the Hosts

Amanda | The Kolb Corner    Kim | Made in a Day
Maureen | Red Cottage Chronicles    Pili | Sweet Things
Debra | Shoppe No. 5    Marie | DIY Adulation    Sue | A Purdy Little House
Chelsea | Making Manzanita    Ann | Duct Tape and Denim    Karen | Dragonfly and Lily Pads
Kimm | Reinvented    Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home   Megan | C’mon Get Crafty
Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled    Shirley | Intelligent Domestications    Angela | Simply Beautiful by Angela
   Michelle | Our Crafty Mom    Jeannee | Shepherds and Chardonnay
Jennifer and Vicki | 2 Bees in a Pod    Ali | Home Crafts By Ali    Denise | My Thrifty House

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

And now for more thrifty goodness!

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!




46 comments

  1. Toni | smallhomesoul.com says:

    When I saw the rug pop up on FaceBook I thought it was cute, but I had no idea how cute until I saw the “before.” Wow, what a transformation, I bet you’re glad you didn’t give up.

    Oh, and if you could see my front lawn (if you could call it lawn) there are at least 3 different shades of spray paint that made it past my cardboard 😀

    • Denise Bryant says:

      Toni I am so glad I didn’t give up…I love how this turned out and my hubby is happy I didn’t spray paint the grass.

  2. Sam@Raggedy Bits says:

    I just LOVE how you have re purposed your rug!!! What an AWESOME transformation!!! It looks right at home too on your beautiful porch!! Your foot stools are adorable! I’ll be around in 5 for coffee!

  3. Medina says:

    I’ve always wanted to try stencilling a rug- this post has given me a little initiative to try 🙂 thanks for sharing . P.s I love that paint color you used also

  4. Sarah says:

    This rug turned out so cute!!! And your porch is swoon-worthy!! I wanna have a cup of coffee there! 😉 Great Job!!!

  5. marjan says:

    I like how everything is tied together with the aqua color, really sets your porch apart. And a great project to try sometime.

  6. Keri says:

    Denise, I love this rug!! The new color and design is so beautiful. You did a great job!! I want to try doing this; I’ll be looking for a rug at a garage sale this summer. This is seriously too cool.

    • Denise Bryant says:

      It has held up well. No cracking or peeling but it is dirty since it is on my front porch. I planned to try and hose it down and see how it holds up to a nice rinse.

  7. Kim~madeinaday says:

    Oh my gosh, I did a rug a couple of years ago and had the same problem. I don’t really promote that post, lol. I used almost a whole quart of latex paint on a small brush type outdoor rug. It was stiff as a board when it dried. Then I realized when I was done it was water based paint. If it rained it would run all over my porch, lol. I trashed it. You did a great job though, I feel your pain.

  8. Shirley Wood says:

    It does not even look like the same rug! I just love it. I appreciate you sharing because now I will know if I should attempt to paint a rug and the thought has crossed my mind. I love your stencil pattern and colors! Beautiful front porch!

    • Denise Bryant says:

      It has held up well. No cracking or fading. It has gotten dirty over the last year so I hosed it down and sprayed it with Oxyclean. It could probably use another was and light scrubbing but it is an outside rug and I anticipated it getting dirty so I am not too worried about it.

    • Denise Bryant says:

      Yes, it is a bit stiff but that doesn’t bother me as it is in a high traffic area. However, knowing what I know now…..I should have gotten the rug damp and sprayed fabric softener on the rug with each layer of paint.

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