Over the years, my decorating style has become anything but traditional. I haven’t always been that way, but now I totally embrace (and go overboard) with my love of bright color and bold, graphic patterns. I also dig unconventional uses of common elements, which is why you’ll find a bed frame hanging above my front door and astroturf chevrons on one of my walls.
Much to my husband’s reservation (and now delight), I’ve taken one more stab at using an artificial grass rug. This time it’s on my concrete slab patio. But obviously, I couldn’t just put a rug on my patio. I had to cut it up and turn it into a graphic pattern.
This was SO easy, y’all. It looks complicated, but it’s really not. Let me explain.
I began by measuring my patio, which was 10 feet x 10 feet. The patio was pretty dirty with muddy dog footprints, so I scrubbed it with soap, water and a brush. That only took about 20 minutes since my patio is so small.
While the patio was drying, I went to Home Depot and bought a cheap 6 x 8 artificial grass rug (less than $20 – same one I used last year on my wall). The rug is OBVIOUSLY fake, which is why I love it. I have a soft place in my heart for kitschy stuff like that.
Since my patio is 10 x 10, I decided to make my life easy and create 12 inch wide stripes. There would be 5 artificial grass stripes and 5 bare concrete stripes.
I rolled the rug out on the patio and measured off the stripes, using a piece of chalk to mark the line.
I was able to cut the rug with my craft scissors without a problem. Once it was cut, I put two strips of indoor/outdoor double-sided carpet tape on each of the long edges on the back of the strips. The tape only comes in 15 foot rolls and I had to buy 5 or 6 of them (at $5 each) for this project. When I ran out, I used double-sided duct tape that I had on hand (originally came from Lowe’s), and it worked just as well. If I was going to do this again, I’d just use the duct tape -it’s cheaper and not as hard to deal with.
I started with the stripe closest to my house. I lined it up (right side up) right next to the house. I peeled off the tape’s backing one side as a time, pressing down and smoothing the strip as I went. Once it was all attached, I walked on it to make sure it stuck well.
Then, I used my yardstick to figure out where the next stripe would go. As I mentioned before, I wanted them to be 12 inches apart. I marked like tick marks along the patio with my white chalk to know where to line up the next stripe.
Because the rug was only 8 feet long, I knew that it wouldn’t be long enough to span the 10 foot wide patio. I was originally going to piece together the rug’s remnants so that the stripes would go all the way across, but the seams looked horrible. So, I played around and figured out that it looked really fun with the end pieces staggered. I put those down in the same way.
The end result is even better than what I pictured in my mind. It’s held up so far to furniture placement, rain, dogs and wind. The carpet tape and duct tape help it to not move around at all, but I could easily peel it up if I wanted to.
I ran out of remnants where the last little stripe should be. However, I was already planning to put a large planter there, so it’s okay. I don’t think it’s all that noticeable in person.
I think the artificial grass stripes give the boring slab some personality. And once the patio was styled with my furniture and planters, it’s just awesome. Even though this is certainly not everyone’s style, it is my style and I’m in love.
Have you ever thought of cutting up a rug to give it a different look? I’m afraid this is just the tip of the iceberg for me!
Just a forewarning, I will be flat out copying you on this! This is exactly what my back porch needs. Thanks, once again, for sharing your awesome inventive fun style with us.
Do it! 😀
this looks fabulous! but I have a question – are the furniture legs tippy being on a flat surface and a raised surface?
It’s actually not at all! The rug is super duper thin, so it’s really no discernible difference in the floor heights.
I love it. Love you. Love the style. Love the kitsch. 😉 <3
I have a problematic basement garage. It’s not used for parking or storage. It’s where the dog bowls are and it’s her hangout when the weather’s too hot or cold. It is also where my hot tub goes in the winter. I cleaned the conrete and stained it. Then sealed it with the recommended sealer with the stuff included to make it not slippery. It’s so very slick that I’ve not used the hot tub in the winter since I did that. I didn’t want to put down an expensive rug for the dog to ruin. This project is perfect to make my basement a spa room in the winter again.
If you are wondering how I move a hot tub, I had a frame built out of 4×4 treated wood with casters on the corners and one in the middle. Won’t move when full but rolls easily when drained. I have it outside for spring, summer and fall and inside for winter.
That looks so cool! I can’t believe you actually made astroturf look good!
Its amazeballs! Honestly, its more than amazeballs! Love it!
Just had to comment on the patio. I have a front porch on my home and decorate with what ever strikes my fancy. Have a mail box on the wall ( get mail in box at road) . That just sat empty so made a bag to put in it and put a plant in it for the summer. A chair with no bottom made planter out of it.
The rug you made got me thinking . Thanks .
When you mentioned duct tape must tell you what I did with it. The steps leading out of our are home are hard to see and with the fear of anyone falling I thought why not paint. No to much work. Easy solution. Got duct tape and put it down. The tape was black and white checked. Looks great and can now see the steps much better when coming or going from the house. Must mention only put the tape at the edge of steps.
Hi Lindsay. This is one of the most creative use of fake grass that I’ve seen yet. It’s really eye-catching. Also, I love your plants. Purslane and petunias?