An Unexpected Way to Revive an Old Carpet

4 Materials
$55.00
2 Weeks
Easy
What do you do when you're stuck with old, worn-out carpet but you can't afford to replace it? Here's an unusual suggestion: paint it!
Stenciled carpet: before and after.
I needed a way to bring some rock-n-roll attitude into this music room, and I couldn't afford to replace the nasty old beige carpet.
Blah beige carpet, before painting.
I'd seen a few carpet-painting tutorials (all done with cheap outdoor area rugs), and when I suggested this option to Chris, he agreed that it would be pretty hard to make the old carpet any nastier than it already was. In my mind, "I suppose you can't make it any worse" is completely equivalent to "That sounds like a fantastic idea!" So with that rousing endorsement, I dove in. I started by bleaching the carpet in an attempt to even out the tone and hopefully mellow out some of the stains.
Bleached carpet, in preparation for painting.
I like to think that it made a huge difference. But in reality, well...maybe I just don't want to admit that I wasted several hours of my day. Anyway. After bleaching, I let it dry out completely. When it was finally ready to paint, I basically reverse-engineered a method that I've used to get paint OUT of carpet when I accidentally spill and I'm not using a drop cloth. (Don't act like that's never happened to you.) I used a pump sprayer to wet sections of the carpet, then used a wet-dry vac to suck most of the water out. The damp carpet absorbs paint much more evenly than dry carpet. Then I rolled on a mixture of 2-parts-paint-to-1-part-water. And I used a scrub brush to work the paint evenly into the carpet.
Half-painted carpet.
After painting, I let it dry for a couple of days. Then I added the pièce de résistance: the stencil.
Stenciling a carpet.
Once again, I watered down the paint. Then I spent 10 hours on my knees, using a 1-inch stencil brush to cover an entire 11x13-foot room with the coolest stencil I could find. And it was TOTALLY WORTH IT.
How to paint a carpet.
If you'd like more details on my carpet-painting process, check out this blog post: http://www.sarahsbigidea.com/2014/11/magic-carpet-ride/
Suggested materials:
  • bleach
  • pump sprayer
  • paint
See all materials
Sarah's Big Idea
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  • George P. Snodgrass George P. Snodgrass on Jan 18, 2018

    would I be able to try this on old decrepit rust-colored carpeting? I'd like to do this without using the bleach. Then use a similar color of paint, just to make it look nicer. And not use the stencils.

  • Betsy Safrin Sayre Betsy Safrin Sayre on Jan 29, 2018

    I have thought of painting my basement indoor- outdoor (beer and animal) stained carpet for several years. Do you have any suggestions for a fun design geared toward kids? And... will the paint cover the stains? I’m not going to do the bleaching step.

  • Lau51566993 Lau51566993 on Jun 29, 2021

    hello,

    what kind of paint get for rug painting?

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  • Missy Burch Missy Burch on Jan 18, 2018

    what a great idea! i'd never have white carpet to begin with, but hey- what a great what to make it over! you're a serious smarty pants!

  • Justine Parkhurst Justine Parkhurst on Jan 18, 2018

    WOW!!! I am a carpet hater but I LOVE this so much. You are a DIY genius and now I'm a fan!

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