If you are looking for a great DIY project that will add amazing appeal to a plain floor, then you might want to try your hand at painting a Faux Rug. Designers have been using rugs for years to tie a rooms decor together. If you have ever been rug shopping, you may have discovered that finding just the right rug can be a daunting task. It also can be a very expensive addition to your budget. The great thing about painting a Faux rug on the floor is that it’s very inexpensive, you can make it as big as you want in a design that goes with your decor, and keeping it clean is a breeze. Faux rugs are being painted on nice hardwood, tile, and stone or concrete floors, the choice is yours. There are so many great places to add this special touch, such as a patio, or a screened-in porch being used as a family room, a garage being used as a “fun room,” or a basement floor that is just dying to have something done to it. If this is your first time painting a Faux Rug, you may want to start with one of these areas that are not in a main room. Your rug design can be very simple or very elaborate.

Here are the materials you will need…
•    Blue Painters tape
•    Different size paint brushes, depending on your design
•    Floor paint or sealer to make the floor workable.
•    Paint trays
•    One small ruler, one yardstick, sharpie marker
•    Utility knife 
•    Paint roller with extension pole
•     *optional: precut stencil, stencil brushes, stencil glue, blank mylar sheet and exacto knive to cut your own stencil.
 
You will first want to prep your floor by cleaning it thoroughly and then paint the floor with your base paint. Make sure you ask your paint professional to advise you on the proper paint to purchase for your type of flooring. Follow the instructions on the paint can and give the floor two coats of paint letting each layer dry thoroughly. As the floor is drying you can start drawing your pattern on paper.
Depending on how good of an artist you are will be the only restrictions to what kinds of “area rug” you can draw on the floor. As you can see from some of these photos, some of these area rugs you have to look really hard at to distinguish that it's not the real thing because they look so realistic. However, you don’t have to be any kind of artist to do this so don’t let these photos intimidate you; until you try something, you don’t’ know how good you can be.

Look around your home and find traceable things. Paint cans may be used to draw circles; different size boxes will make different types of squares or draw your own geometric designs free style and see what you come up with. You can also use wall paper designs or pillow designs or designs on other objects in the room as inspiration for your faux rug. YOu can trace them onto a blank mylar sheet and cut your own stencil. When you have an idea draw it out on a sheet of paper so you have some kind of guide for yourself to go by.

After your basecoat is dry, start drawing your design on the floor, don’t worry about making mistakes because they won’t show once you paint over them. Once you’ve got your design done, start taping it off. Take your time and tape carefully, this will take the most amount of time but your not in a race. Even if you’re going to paint freehand, you will still need to tape off the area you’re going to paint. Once the paint is completely dry, carefully and slowly peel off all tape and marvel at your new area rug. You may need the utility knife to help remove the tape without pulling up your painted design.
 

If you are not comfortable creating your own design, you may wish to use precut stencils. You can find a wide variety of online stencil stores that sell repeat pattern stencils that work perfectly for rug designs and may be specifically designed as floor patterns. When you are trying to work within a budget, this may be the best solution to bring about a dramatic decorative touch for your home with the least amount of dollars out-of-pocket. Have fun and good luck with your area rug.

If you are interested in painting the black and white harlequin design shown in the photo above, make sure your read our article on "How to Paint Harlequin Diamonds."

For those looking to paint a small rug, but are not comfortable painting directly on the floor, you may wish to start off painting a floorcloth. See our article on "How to Paint a Floorcloth" !