Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working on updating the powder bath in the entryway of our home.  It’s always been unremarkably boring, but since it’s the bathroom that a) you see when you walk into the house and b) our visitors always use, it was overdue for a little revamp.

I have a few more things to finish before I can reveal the entire room to you, but I must say that it is pure bold, vintage quirk.   Oooooh, that sounds like a perfect eclectic style mix, doesn’t it?  However, I do want to show you a fun little piece that can be completed in under 15 minutes.

Well, hello to you, too!

The floor needed a small, textured rug, but necessity didn’t mean that it had to be plain and boring.  The simplest process ever yields a “talking” rug.  Besides, who wouldn’t want a little greeting when they walk into a room?

How to Paint a Talking Rug

1.  Find a natural fibered rug, such as jute or sisal.  The rug I used is a 2 x 3 jute rug that I picked up at Cost Plus/World Market for $16.99.  As a side note, they have really great natural rugs for reasonable prices, so make sure you check them out when you are in the rug market.

2.  Cut your word out of vinyl and position it on your rug.  I used my Silhouette SD to cut out the word, but you absolutely do not need to have a craft cutter to do this.  You could trace your word onto a piece of sticky vinyl shelf paper (i.e. Contact paper) and cut out the stencil by hand.  The font I used can be downloaded here for free.

3.  Dab your paint onto the rug with a cheap chip brush, using a up and down motion.  The vinyl won’t stick incredibly well to the rug, so I wouldn’t brush the paint on to ensure that your brush won’t slip under the vinyl.  Any craft paint would likely do, but I am using Martha Stewart craft paint because it is really thick and creamy.  The color I chose is Wild Blueberry, which looks like a dark navy under the light in my room (remember that your lighting will effect your color choice!).

4.  Keep dabbing until your stencil is completely filled in and only solid color shows through.  For reference, it took me under 5 minutes to fill in my word.

5.  Carefully remove the vinyl and put your rug in a place where it can dry.  If you are in a hurry, you can use a hairdryer and it will dry more quickly.

I love my little “statement” piece and the fun that it brings my tiny bathroom.  If the paint comes off after a lot of wear, I could easily touch up the paint.  Or, for only $16.99, maybe I’ll buy a new rug and give it a new voice.

What say you?  Could you use a little unexpected greeting somewhere in your home?