How to Stencil an Outdoor Rug
One day when I was walking home from the gym, I realized our front porch needed a little love. It already had a mini-makeover last year when I painted over the hideous green color with a neutral gray, but I felt like it need a pop of color.
We have a lot of teal on our front porch- the door, mailbox, and our Adirondack chairs, so I knew I wanted an outdoor rug that incorporated that color in a fun pattern. After many, many days of searching, I couldn’t find anything that I loved. So I did what any good DIY-er would do- I made one!
I was inspired by an indoor rug that I found at Target.
I loved the geometric pattern and the pops of color woven throughout the pattern. I found a triangle stencil by Folk Art, which I found at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I used the large triangle.
My next step was to pick out the colors. I wanted to use black and white for the main colors, and I chose teal and yellow for the pops of color. Folk Art has a great outdoor acrylic paint that will hold up to outdoor elements- I chose the colors Sunny and Cabana.
Before I could start painting, I had to measure the porch to determine the center of the rug. We have an older home (1920s), so nothing is quite square. I had to fudge the border of the rug so it looks centered.
Finally, it was time to stencil! I stenciled the triangles going one direction in the first row, then flipped the stencil for the next row to create the pattern. I got about four rows in before I became impatient and started to paint. (#ProjectADD)
I didn’t have a clear plan on how to map out the colors, but I knew I wanted the black and white to dominate the rug, so the teal and yellow would really stand out.
After a few days of painting and about a million podcasts, the rug is complete!
I think it adds a bit of whimsy and fun to the front porch. And the best part is- when I’m bored of it- it can be painted over! Now I’m headed out on the porch to read and enjoy a cup of coffee! Happy Monday!
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Nice concept and colors are great…Except to bad your lines aren’t straight and crisp..Looks like you didn’t have a very good stencil or you just rushed it.
I can appreciate your feedback. I wanted a more rustic, hand-crafted look for my rug- I didn’t want it to look perfect. Thanks for reading!
Love the rug Patti! I love the hand drawn feel going on. Nice Job!
what a fabulous job you did. Glad it is not perfect, it looks cuter. and really great color scheme too. very clever.
Absolutely adorable I’m going to try this on my porch but first I’ve got to do the front door. Thank you so much for the idea and In a few weeks when the weather cools down I’m going to do this. Got to find a pattern I like though. Happy decorating
You did an awesome job. Love that it’s not perfect. Looks more like a real rug.
I love it & it would have been time consuming to do this.
If it was to be perfect than it would have been manufactured and a zillion of them made but yours in unique. GREAT JOB!