HomeStyle: Paint a Chevron Rug

[Editor's note: This post is part a new, infrequent series on home design ideas and projects. If you're new here (welcome!), this blog really does deal mostly with style/fashion. Specifically mine. Heh. So don't be alarmed, but just pull up a proverbial chair and stay awhile...]

So, maybe chevron (zigzag) pattern is a has-been for some of you, but I'm still deeply (wipe a tear) deeply in love with it. Especially rugs. I've wanted one for a while now. Like these:

(West Elm)

(Nate Berkus)

But I just couldn't bring myself to fork over the cash for one. Enter the five-star idea in cyberworld (especially here) that you can actually paint your own rug. Genius.

I bought an inexpensive plain flatweave rug from Ikea. Decided on the size/scale of ziggity-zagness I wanted, then proceeded to spend 40 days and nights marking it out and taping it. Okay, fine, not that long...but close.

I'd planned all along on using a reddish paint, but I made a last-minute decision to go slightly more muted with a paint color called "toasted almond," mostly because I already had nearly a full quart on-hand and it's a pretty color. (My sincerest apologies to those of you Google Search users coming here amid your quest for ways to toast almonds. Feel free to create your own blog post on roasting the nut and calling your method "painted rug" just out of spite. I'd understand.)

(ahem) So. I'm happy with the color and the way it turned out. I like the dry-brush effect; it seems instantly antiquated, but in a more subtle way than if the color itself were darker. Also, slight paint bleeding under the tape isn't obvious, and the zigzag looks crisp and sharp.

I just threw the rug down on the floor for your viewing pleasure here; it obviously needs to be integrated into the space. What do you guys think? Would you ever paint a rug?

p.s. If you're a style blogger, don't forget to join the "Unexpected and Maybe Awesome" linkup in the post directly below. I'd link to it, but I don't want to insult your page-scrolling intelligence... Seriously, link up! The more the merrier.