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My husband and I purchased a home that is roughly 50 years old.
The house is in excellent shape; new roof, great septic and drainage system, new washer, dryer and fridge etc. The woman who lived here before us was the original owner and took wonderful care of her home. She understood taking care of the necessities. She did not, however, spent any extra time or money making things look "pretty". Which is fine by me... now that we are living here I am fully capable of painting some cabinets, changing door knobs and updating bathroom fixtures.
Every update I do is a challenge. Not because its difficult... but with a baby to take care of and my husband and I rotating working on the weekends, we are pretty much left to do any home improvements while Jamie naps (hence Napper Notes). So, as we accomplish our small milestones of home improvements I will try to update you on our progress.
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Project #1 - Make Ugly Carpet, Less Ugly.
My cousin posted a DYI link on her FB page which I viewed and then spent 2 days thinking about. The woman had painted her own decorative rug for an office. She said she spent days and a whole gallon of paint... I thought if SHE spent days doing it... with a baby and being not as crafty or skilled as her I would take MONTHS. So I spray painted it... that's right... spray painted. It took my less than 30 mins from beginning to end + 20 mins to dry in the Florida sun. In less than one hour I made my ugly walmart clearance rack laundry room rug cute enough to display on my porch! Check it out.
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| Make sure to wrap tape around the edge! |
STEP ONE: I almost forgot to take a before pic. This is my $20 Beige-y Walmart 5' x7' Rug with a simple pattern randomly placed on the rug using 1" & 2" painters tape. I went for a Star burst design).. I felt anything Geometrically based would love awesome.. but would be a real challenge to lay out and if I messed up it would be more obvious.
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| Spray thoroughly! |
STEP TWO: I dragged the rug out into my back yard and sprayed away. I recommend covering as much of the rug surface with
tape instead of spray paint. I used two cans
of spray paint... although I could have used
three and the color would have been much
more bold.
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| I found DuckTapes Brand painters tape held best |
STEP THREE: I peeled the tape away right after I was done spraying and let it dry in the sun for about 20 mins.
STEP FOUR: Laid it back on the porch.
So, I am aware that it is not breathtakingly beautiful... But it is a good improvement from what it was before.
Originally, I thought the spray paint would make the carpet stiff, as if I had sprayed hair spray on it, but it didn't. Surprisingly the texture and feel of the carpet is about the same. Great for an outdoor rug.
All in all, I like it :)
Estimated cost:
$20 rug
$ 8 for 2 cans of spray paint
$ 5 for 2 rolls of painters tape (although you could use one)
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$33 for a cute porch rug.
Now on to the next project....
oh wait, baby is up!
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