Bamboo Rug Makeover

by Southern Blenders

2 Materials

One Friday afternoon I was taking the trash out at the office and there it was tucked away in the corner, a junky old beat up office bamboo mat. Of course I rolled it out and it was a little tattered but nothing I can't fix with some bleach, E6000, and some paint (or stain in this case). So home my new rug went! Good thing about office finds...they don't smell like dogs, cats, or smoke!

Step 1: Come up with 15 makeover ideas and pick one! I decided to stain this rug, as it would be quick, pretty, and flexible! Make any repairs you need. You can see a few bamboo pieces lifting up and I glued them down with E6000. Ohh and COVER THE FLOOR under the rug with something that can handle oil from the stain. I used cellophane that I had laying around! Reuse..Recycle.... Right???

Step 2: Brush on your stain. We are using Minwax (Dark Walnut), if you are doing this inside, open a door, it's a little stinky! After you brush one, allow it to sit and penetrate the wood (15-20 mins) and then wipe off the excess! Also take note that with OIL BASE stains you will need a brush that can handle the oil. Natural bristle brushes are your best bet!

Step 3: Stand up and rub the bamboo marks out of your knees and admire your work...(you can also see the sun has come up...I started this project at 6am as I couldn't sleep....which is no surprise to anyone reading this...)

Step 4: NOW FOR THE STENCIL!!!! We are using one from Cutting Edge Stencil the "Gabi" in large! This stencil is SO SO pretty and very easy if you are not a season stencil artists!

Tip: You want to try and find your center point. It helps if your rug is exactly the size it should be but it would be my luck that one end was 1/2" wider than the other! URGG! I just used basic white latex paint and to apply the paint I used the brush that Cutting Edge sent! It worked really WELL!

And as you can see the results are amazing!!!! If you would like to see more simple and cost effective home makeovers you can visit our blog!!! Thanks for letting us share and thank you to Pixie Dust Paint Company, M&B Furniture Decor (formally ML), and Cutting Edge stencils for making this makeover possible! Thanks for reading.