Southern State of Mind Blog by Heather

{Tutorial} Ballard Painted Striped Outdoor Rug Knock-Off

in Lifestyle on

This spring weekend was a perfect 10 here in Atlanta. The weather was gorgeous and I even pulled out my favorite summer wardrobe staple, white jeans (before Memorial Day, GASP), for our Braves game date night on Saturday night.
So between tomahawk chopping and watching basketball I was still able to sneak in a weekend project. Last week, we saw my back porch in it’s current state and all agree it could use some love. To begin giving some life to this space, I tackled a DIY Painted Outdoor Rug inspired by Ballard Designs.

Can you just imagine this setting on a dock?

With a lake behind it?
Friends floating on some tubes?
I have had my eye on an outdoor striped rug for the porch and know it would be just the thing to help anchor the space. Love these from Dash & Albert  and  Wayfair. (edited: sadly the Ballard version is no longer available).
 

 

However, at $300 a pop, it would have cost more than I want to spend on the entire back porch face lift. Also, since there is no roof on the porch, the thought of a $300 investment isn’t appealing because
it is going outside, after all!
diy striped rug
So what’s a girl to do?
 Never fear, when there’s a will, there’s a DIY way!
 Best part of this DIY way? It only cost $20.
Originally, I was going to buy this inexpensive outdoor rug from Home Depot for $20 to tackle this project. However, when I found this 6 x 9 plastic-y rug while on a thrift outing for $12, I thought it would be the perfect rug to do some DIY painted stripes.
This project took a little engineering so I brought in the reinforcements for a little help.
diy outdoor striped rug tutorial
Such big helpers!
To start, just measure your rug and decide how big your want your stripes. I went with 6 inches to give it a more bold wide stripe while still having the least amount of stripes possible (less taping!). I didn’t spend much time measuring and taping off. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful, y’all.
Don’t mind the aqua color, that was a “test” run-
I spray painted a section and left it outside in the rain for awhile just to be sure it wouldn’t peel off!
I started taping off my stripes and then realized that since the background of this rug was not one of the colors I wanted to use, I needed to give the entire rug a coat of the Rustoleum Heirloom White as a base (used two cans for this project). This would help prevent having to tape each line off twice. Always looking for shortcuts! For the blue, I used Rustoleum Gloss Navy Blue (only one can needed).
Oh yeah- and did I mention I used spray paint to do this?
Is there ANYTHING you can’t spray paint?
ballard diy inspired rug
If you are a perfectionist, I would not recommend this project because it would actually take a lot of time to get it perfect. If you are OK with something that will last a year, that you know is going to be mostly covered with furniture, and only costs $20- then this project is perfect!
Since the porch is nowhere near ready to be enjoyed, I pulled the chairs over from the fire pit to set this little area up in the backyard.  Who’s ready for happy hour?

(what, it’s only Monday?? ugh!)

Related posts:

DIY American Flag Pallet Knock Off Ceramic Giant Clam Shell DIY Floating Outdoor Curtains {Tutorial} How to Make Jonathan Adler Knock Off Letter Pillow

Comments

  7. marty (A Stroll Thru Life) says

    Oh how fun, I love this idea and your rug turned out spectacular. I love your beautiful blue ceiling on the porch too. Amazing. Thanks so much for following and for linking to Inspire Me. I am your newest follower also. Hugs, Marty

    Reply

    • Heather says

      Thanks! It definitely makes me ready for summer when I pull the tray out! It was actually a birthday gift from a sweet friend. (I think it came from Target.)

      Reply

  14. happyandharried says

    Wow! You make it sound so easy. I have seen painted rugs a lot, and wanted to do one. But I am scared of ruining it. Maybe I should start with a thrifted one too!
    Love your little helpers!!

    Reply

    • Heather says

      Yes- I too was a bit nervous but I figured it was a little investment for the experiment. It was pretty easy, but like I said- it AIN'T perfect so don't set your expectations too high! I think it will do just fine though! 🙂

      Reply

  20. Tanya Runkle says

    I love this painted summer rug Heather!! Thank you so much for sharing with us at the Pretty Things party this week, hope to see you again tonight for another great party!!

    xo, Tanya
    twelveOeight

    Reply

  23. Tammy Snider says

    Your back patio looks great! It must feel so great to be ready for summer and all the fun entertaining. I can't wait to get mine in entertaining shape. I need to find some good thrift shop deals or it is going to take a long time to get everything done.

    Tammy @ The Colored Door

    Reply

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