HomeStyle: Paint a Chevron Rug

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">[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...]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, maybe chevron (zigzag) pattern is a has-been for some of you, but I'm still deeply (wipe a tear) <em>deeply</em> in love with it. Especially rugs. I've wanted one for a while now. Like these:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzd5F7mzZ6PU6JNyQwyTnBxmFLBYKpiq6W6640PgJRlbK73EHA7WbENefGjvJB6UakEcYLgAZXdNa_ABKZ15c8yA7XOuVWdzgR64Z_J-Cf66R7SumBpftwaDExfxKznGlSlHy93CXqORG/s1600/rug1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzd5F7mzZ6PU6JNyQwyTnBxmFLBYKpiq6W6640PgJRlbK73EHA7WbENefGjvJB6UakEcYLgAZXdNa_ABKZ15c8yA7XOuVWdzgR64Z_J-Cf66R7SumBpftwaDExfxKznGlSlHy93CXqORG/s400/rug1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/zigzag-rug-r656/" target="blank">West Elm</a>)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVxVHcV7vAdK8T9BuZ7rg5uKmuT5CNMSehYUtaXBb-e8gg7AMJhFMU6l6aIxwI7XAqayRMQ5DkYzJ78xv09NTzuKADlWje0EtWL26Zd01TWx-UKiQ3ojUZ_mzLu2__u5TC8Jugo8dNYPi/s1600/rug2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVxVHcV7vAdK8T9BuZ7rg5uKmuT5CNMSehYUtaXBb-e8gg7AMJhFMU6l6aIxwI7XAqayRMQ5DkYzJ78xv09NTzuKADlWje0EtWL26Zd01TWx-UKiQ3ojUZ_mzLu2__u5TC8Jugo8dNYPi/s1600/rug2.bmp" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=nate+berkus+dhurrie++rug&FORM=HURE" target="blank">Nate Berkus</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">But I just couldn't bring myself to fork over the cash for one. Enter the five-star idea in cyberworld (especially <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2010/06/diy-chevron-rug.html" target="blank">here</a>) that you can actually paint your own rug. Genius.<br /><br />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 <em>that</em> long...but close.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaRwbzYc2vG4IgX3onbHvVhlyY_hB39wNUCJiOj0dNenZ7jQzS9Jtth0pmYu03aFFnmkwytTIbnARK4RP6s4BlRF9HsTCwMXreJHsnEPy9pbNzvO30AC8yzBhwi60kZscDgxb2Zr_OIYp/s1600/Chevron_Rug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaRwbzYc2vG4IgX3onbHvVhlyY_hB39wNUCJiOj0dNenZ7jQzS9Jtth0pmYu03aFFnmkwytTIbnARK4RP6s4BlRF9HsTCwMXreJHsnEPy9pbNzvO30AC8yzBhwi60kZscDgxb2Zr_OIYp/s400/Chevron_Rug.jpg" width="350" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">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 <em>and</em> 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.)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">(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.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdsRpgJOFlGfe3ME9FRGvC9Lqb60yVXJPMQ5kb5upbCrZU2ZMpm9wssikCTIDcfMrwV8nZvo6no5LdAAcddMmLA2fUpQsoNnhCstqyFihsgcCovGkCbcY62gpJanQkrN6UTXeuIXNxVF3/s1600/Chevron_Rug_done.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdsRpgJOFlGfe3ME9FRGvC9Lqb60yVXJPMQ5kb5upbCrZU2ZMpm9wssikCTIDcfMrwV8nZvo6no5LdAAcddMmLA2fUpQsoNnhCstqyFihsgcCovGkCbcY62gpJanQkrN6UTXeuIXNxVF3/s400/Chevron_Rug_done.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">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?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">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.</div>

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 bl...

Read more »

(New Blog Feature) Home Style: Trays

<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hey friends,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Okay, so here's the deal. Somewhere between several and many of you have asked to see parts of my house, which is so super sweet of you all. Honestly. My "real life" friends know that, although I enjoy dabbling in certain realms of home design, I have no innate skill or eye whatsoever.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">That being said, I don't want to ignore those of you who've expressed interest in my home. So, I'm going to shake things up a bit on this blog. On occasion (I'm trying to figure out just how often...weekly? twice a week? yearly? What are your thoughts?), I'm going to add a home design DIY or idea or something that I've done. That way, those of you who care will see parts of my house and home style. The rest of you can ignore me. (But not you, Mom. You're stuck with me...)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">So. Let's start small, shall we? Today's idea features a tray makeover. I think trays are wonderfully subtle ways to infuse a bit of style into a space without screaming, "Hey everyone, look at me!" They're also very practical, for serving food at parties, holding utensils at family gatherings, keeping keys and sunglasses and miscellaneous stuff quarantined by the door, etc. They're not only fun but incredibly useful.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I thrifted this little baby for about $2 last Fall.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3JiGn-4rI937Qj5ZI_Oz9Xmod-hFiDGtowLVv_OrhLwkhHOJqJ1GyebzXfF_xsqHvhkWuLvvgBHMrIluy3rr96_TxrbudAGwPixDkGQBU5UDPoZWS3IO1fZ12RiEYESkUeolNLtoS-c4/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3JiGn-4rI937Qj5ZI_Oz9Xmod-hFiDGtowLVv_OrhLwkhHOJqJ1GyebzXfF_xsqHvhkWuLvvgBHMrIluy3rr96_TxrbudAGwPixDkGQBU5UDPoZWS3IO1fZ12RiEYESkUeolNLtoS-c4/s400/019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Thought it had potential, with the cool iron edging and solid wood base, although it was a bit scuffed up and had the look of check-out-what-I-did-at-craft-night. (Craft nights are great, mind you...I just prefer that the finished product doesn't give that impression right outta the gate, you know?) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I took it apart, spray painted the metal navy and primed and painted the wood base white. After the base dried, I taped out a chevron design, which I then painted grey. Went over the whole thing with wipe-on polyurethane. This is the end result (my first attempt at chevron pattern...I learned some things). The tray sits on a chartreuse console table, and I love the color combo of all of it together. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdH9AkNwA4OEAr8x9i73vnf2HoM0rU2j_cO6t63t3X8NbrAQqGRyL-QSaMSbZdKFw16T0EFzMHCl85pZVFpfjE2M5PNax2J2aTL051sGj2cFF4Y2V04uHXfmi33hvqNWqfDCw_AtcUfX1Y/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdH9AkNwA4OEAr8x9i73vnf2HoM0rU2j_cO6t63t3X8NbrAQqGRyL-QSaMSbZdKFw16T0EFzMHCl85pZVFpfjE2M5PNax2J2aTL051sGj2cFF4Y2V04uHXfmi33hvqNWqfDCw_AtcUfX1Y/s400/020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm still working on a vignette for the top of the tray (ideas, anyone?), but in the meantime, I think it's an improvement over the original tired old painted cherries. Nothing against cherries, of course. They're a delicious fruit. </div>

(New Blog Feature) Home Style: Trays

Hey friends, Okay, so here's the deal. Somewhere between several and many of you have asked to see parts of my house, which is so super ...

Read more »