Why I painted my rug!
Those reform rugs are so beautiful but also sso expensive!. I’ve been wanting a burgundy rug for about a year now. Originally this was supposed to be a rug dyeing project but after finding out I would need to boil my 9×12 wool rug in a huge pot i realized I didn’t have a pot big enough. Yes I considered using a trash can but the thought of trying to stuff it in there seemed impossible and can you imagine dragging around a wet huge rug!! I can’t! Oh and of course rinsing it out a dozens times before I let it dry for a week.
The whole process just seemed way to overwhelming and I wasn’t expecting to come across a 9×12 sized rug for this project (which added to the overwhelming part). I was thinking a 5×7 originally and yes I probably would of went through the hassle of dyeing of a 5×7 that is until I would of done some research and found out the dye bleeds out sometimes if the rug was to ever get wet. Yet another reason I checked dying my rug off my list. Wouldn’t wanna stain my precious floor.
Here’s the pretty turkish rug we got for a steal.
UPDATE: It’s been over year now and a the paint slightly rubs off. The color faded a bit and the rug looks more of a dark pink. If you don’t mind that than this might be what you’re looking for. I tried to set the color into the rug with some vinegar and heat but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. 3 YEAR UPDATE: I took it outside to pressure wash it and the paint didn’t come out at all. It seems pretty solid.
Yes we were debating on whether we should even paint it. It was super beautiful as it is but the style didn’t really match our home and it had a few stains. 
Here’s a video version
What you’ll need
- Hard bristle plastic brush
- 2 spray bottles (if you plan on using multiple color you’ll need more – I purchased my spray bottle for paint at homedepot)
- Glidden (flat paint)
- Floetrol (latex thinner – I got mine at homedepot)
- Water
- plastic cups
Rug – Paint Recipe
So for you’re paint you’ll need to thin it out enough for it to be able to be sprayed out of a spray bottle. For this you’ll need to mix equal amounts of paint, floetrol and water. ( example 1 cup paint, 1 cup floetrol, 1 cup water )
Why use a spray bottle??
My first attempt at this was actually a bit of a fail because I didn’t realize thinning latex paint with water doesn’t really work yes even though it’s water based. You would think it would work right… 🙁 NOPE! Not at all. Water causes the paint to still separate which in my case gave me a crunchy rug because I didn’t realize when I was dipping my brush into the cup of paint I was grabbing the separated paint on the tip of my brush. In other words I should of just painted right of my glidden bucket of paint because it made no difference at all. When you add floterol it helps thin your latex paint properly without letting it separate and goes on smoother as well. Once thin the paint out with floetrol I ended up adding water to my paint because I needed it to be used out of a spray bottle. Ok to answer your question: I used a spray bottle to ensure the paint was coming out in an even consistency and not chunky.
How to avoid a crunchy rug?
So here’s a few things the helped me out with this. First of all make sure the brush you use to rub the paint in is super hard bristles. Also I shook my spray bottle about every 3-5 minutes just to make sure all the liquids were well blended. I also used a spray bottle of water that I spritzed every once in a while. The water spritz trick also quickened the process a little since it blends quicker.
Instructions:
Mix your paint and add it to your spray bottle. Have a separate spray bottle of water ready as well. Tape off anything you don’t want painted. Following that spray the color onto your rug and brush the color in with a hard bristle brush. Let it dry overnight. Preferably with a fan on it. Once it’s dry vacuum it to get the fibers moving around and that’s it.
I’m in love with the wine red color! I’ll let you know how it holds up. I still plan on heat setting it with vinegar a cotton cloth and an iron to make the color set better. It’s been a few days now and I’m not sure if it’s still wet or dry at this point but it does rub off the slightest bit. Keep in mind I haven’t set the color at all. ( if you were to dye a rug you would need to set the color as well) I’ll keep u posted! I plan on doing the heat set in a few weeks. Check back! 😀
Look at that crisp line though!! I’m so glad the tape worked! 
Different angles make the rug look a bit different. If I stand on the other side of the room the rug almost looks purple and not red. (the rug fibers lean towards one direction. I’m assuming that’s why it does that.)
Doesn’t it look purple from this side. It’s beautiful either way. I’m so glad I painted it. No regrets.
Happy Friday everyone. I hope this was helpful. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Can’t wait to hear from ya! 
UPDATE: It is with great sadness that I have to say this DIY was a flop. It’s been over year now and a the paint slightly rubs off. If you don’t mind that than this might be what you’re looking for. I tried to set the color into the rug with some vinegar and heat but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
Also I’ve been buying my rugs on rugsusa.com and am amazed at their prices + quality. I’ve gotten a 9×12 for $134. I would highly recommend checking them out.
Amazing!
Awe thank you Cheryl 🙂
How has it held up?
Hi Christin, to be brutally honest not so good. It still lets out some color, I should mention that I never got around to trying the vinegar trick to lock in the color. I got sick of the color before I got there. LOL! It doesn’t bleed a ton of color, only noticeable when I scrub with a damp cloth but honestly by know you’d think it would settle in. It didn’t change much since right after it dried. I think the best way to dye a rug is literally boiling it in DYE ( almost impossible) I still use it though 🙂 ! I wouldn’t say it’s a complete flop. If I was to do it again I wouldn’t do this for my living room again. Maybe in like a game room or man cave. Also the red color got annoying pretty fast! Gosh lol! This is one of those DIYs I look back at and wonder what was I thinking HAHAHA!
Hi, just found your site today. You have lots of great, easy and very inexpensive ideas.
Regarding your Reform Rug, I had never heard of these before so I had to look it up. You’re right, beautiful but very expensive.
Now for my question/idea. I have arthritis in my hands. Using any type of spray bottle hurts after a few minutes. So what I usually do is transfer my sprays, (Febreez, Bug Spray, cleansing products etc) into those larger wand/trigger type back yard sprayers. You can adjust the spray with the nozzle and get a more even flow and more coverage. Having no experience with Floetrol at all, I’m wondering if you think I could thin paint enough to apply it this way?? Do you think you can rake the paint in as opposed to sitting down on the floor with a scrub brush or even using a stiff push broom to get it in the fibers. I’m not lazy, I just have a very hard time these days getting down on the floor and getting up can become a comedy of errors.
As far as heating the painted rug, I live in an area where it can reach the high 90’s or more in the summer. Do you think laying the rug out in a heat wave would be hot enough to set the paint?? Any other ideas or alternative method to complete this project myself would be appreciated or my grandkids are in for learning something new. They like crafting too but they really love the easy stuff.
BTW, I never learned to knit and because of the arthritis I don’t crochet much anymore. My 8 year old granddaughter asked me to teach her knitting and it broke my heart to say I couldn’t because I love being able to teach them new things I know. Your finger knitted poofy blanket is a great project we can do together. I know this has gotten long so I will close by saying thank you for sharing your wonderful projects.
Hi Elena, Awe I’m so sorry to hear about your arthritis. I hope you feel better. You can do equal parts of paint, floetrol and add water to thin it more if needed. So I think it would work fine. As far as brushing it in maybe you can find a brush with a longer handle like those shop brooms although I thinking some of them are a bit heavy. I think the outdoor heat might work although I would recommend giving it a spray down with vinegar before you let it heat set it’ll secure the color more. It’s been a while since I did my rug and I did notice some color transfer I haven’t had a chance to heat set it with vingear yet because I keep wanting to do another darker shade of red before I do that and I know it’ll take a lot of time so I’ve been putting it away. It’s a busy time of the year for me plus I love you’re idea of heat setting it in the sun I would love to try the instead of the iron maybe I’ll just wait until summer altogether. OH I know what you mean I have the hardest time with crocheting or knitting. The chunky knit would be such a fun craft with kiddos to do. Your an awesome grandma. 😀 Awe and thank you so much for all the kind words. Happy crafting! Keep me posted with your projects. I can’t wait to hear from you again. 😀
how much paint and floetrol did you use for this size rug? 1 gal paint? thanks so much! this looks cool. i got a free craigslist rug, but it’s not wool. do you think the paint will work on it still? I’m hopeful! 🙂 this looks way less daunting than dyeing. 🙂
Yes I would say I used around a gallon of paint and a jar in a half of the floetrol that’s sold at home depot. OOH nice. Yes I think it’ll still work on a non wool rug. I don’t see why not. Oh yeh it’s definitely easier than dyeing plus I would be scared for the dye to stain my floors. This shouldn’t soak through your rug at all. Mine only soaked through in one spot where I spilled some of the mixed paint. The rest of the rug didn’t show color on the bottom at all. I haven’t gotten a chance to seal the color in with vinegar yet. This time of season is ssso busy I did notice some color coming off. Nothing crazy though. I’m not sure if the vinegar and head set would help but, If that’s something that worries you maybe do a test shot on a small old rug or maybe even a bathroom room to see. I was also thinking maybe I’ll just wait until it gets hot enough in the summer here and set it with vinegar under the sun that way I don’t have to heat set it with an iron. Anyways 😀 😀 Let me know how it goes. 😀
I read that after you got your area rug done in the different colors of red. You mention something about sealing it with vinegar but you were going to wait til summer. What does the vinegar do.? I hope my small 3 kitchen rugs turns out as nice as your. It is November 2018. now but I’m debating weather to do my rugs now are wait til summer. What would you suggest. I copied all your steps on a notebook. So I had the correct information to color my rugs. Mary from IL
Hi Mary, I am so happy to hear you liked it. The vinegar seals in the color. I got the idea from fabric dyeing. It is asks for a bit of vinegar to help the color settle in better. I’ve tried it before on a piece of faux fur and it worked. I honestly would wait until summer. Unless it doesn’t get really hot anyways. But the idea is to spray it down with vinegar and let the heat from the sun help it set even better. You can totally do it now and heat set it with an iron carefully. I would have a cotton cloth between the iron and rug so as not to burn the rug. Let me know how it does 😀 Happy DIYing 😀
It’s beautiful, but does it still feel soft under bare feet or is it crispy? Thanks
Hi Bec it’s not crispy :D. I’m so happy you like it! 😀
Very creative thinking! Looks better than before you painted it! Beautiful!
Thank you so much Denise! 😀 I’m so happy to hear you liked it! 😀
Hello! I have a beautiful rug, but there are parts that are dark brown, which is a little too dark for our home. If I wanted to just paint those areas with a brush do you think I would still need to thin the paint out?
Hi Kimberly, Yes I would still thin the paint out. I actually tried this first without thinning the paint out and it was crunchy in spots.
Hi, among the many tutorials I’ve seen to dye a rug I find yours to be the best!
I ask you for advice, I have to dye my woolen rug, but I won’t be able to spray it because I have to apply different colors and reproduce particular designs. I will have to use a small brush and I need to have a very liquid paint, the color should be very vivid and intense. Do you think your method might be fine considering that my carpet does not have a fur effect like yours but rather knotty? Can you give me further advice on how to dilute the paint without losing color?
After almost a year your carpet is always soft and the color holds well?
Thank you so much, and congratulations, your rug is very amazing !!!
Hi Mary, Thank you so much for your kind words! Since I’ve painted my rug it’s still soft however some color has been lost. I wouldn’t say it’s noticeable at all. I just know because I was the one that painted it. If you plan to paint your rug in sections I would still dilute the paint with floetrol and try painting it with a paintbrush. I should mention I tried this and applying it with a paint brush was a huge hassle. It took me three hours to complete a 2 foot section. If you’re painting a big rug this might be back breaking 🙁 Also I did notice it was more crunchy when applied in sections with a paint brush. I’m not really sure if this would be the best option to paint your rug. Maybe you can try it first on a smaller rug.
Hi, thanks for your valuable suggestions, I just have to give it a try, so the carpet is not precious! 🙂 mary
Hi Lily,
Wondering if you ever sealed your rug? How did it affect softness, etc.? I love this idea but I’m mostly worried about the color leaching on to really shiny tile flooring in my apartment. I don’t want to be responsible for any kind of damage. Have you noticed the color leaching on your feet or through the rug onto the flooring? Thank you!
Hi, I never ended up sealing it. The color definitely didn’t leach into the floor surrounding it but I did notice a little bit leaching onto clean white socks for the first few months and than it stopped. Maybe do a test run on a small rug? See how it holds up before doing a big rug 😀
If you used fabric screenprinting ink and heat set that in the color would last. It is similar to acrylic paint and so you couldn’t thin and spray it as you did, but it would just react better to setting and not bleed/fade as much
Hi Lily.
What a fantastic way to reuse a rug that doesnt match your decor! May I ask you what colour red you used? Its absolutely perfect!!
Hi Cathy, I checked the can and sadly it says custom color. Not sure which color it was exactly. I know it was a deep burgundy color and when I brought it home I ended up adding more bright red because it seemed to look to faded and not as bright once applied on the rug. I was going for a vibrant burgundy rather that faded.
I love this!!! I had been thinking about doing this for my apothecary rug that I had the same complaints about as you, but was nervous that it would turn out crunchy. This morning my toddlers decided to spill all my craft paint all over my rug🤦🏻♀️ So I guess it’s my sign to give it a try!😂 thanks for giving me more confidence!!
OH NO!! I’m sorry to hear that! I feel ya girl! My little guy spilled a gallon of paint on my floor and rug last week while building a fort 🤦🏻♀️ ! I guess paint is naturally attracted to rugs😂. Let me know how your project goes. LOL glad this was helpful!
Hello!!!
So I have a shag rug and I started your process yesterday. The color is amazing and I was able to work the brush to keep everything seperated in terms of the fluff…but the section I did although seperated has developed a bit of a crunchiness…do you have any recommendations of how I might be able to restore the softness? I randomly started considering scrubbing with water and softener in the same way youd soften clothes but I wanted to see if you maybe had any other suggestions. Thank you!
V/r,
Blythe
Ooooh I have no idea. I would totally give the softener a try although I think that might remove a lot of the color and you’ll have to repaint it. Sorry wish I was of more help. Let me know how it goes 😀
Try sealing it with Scotchguard. Also, try DIY paint it is clay-based and does not bleed off like that. It is beautiful I hope the Scotchguard works for you.
Oh I love that idea. Scotchguard is awesome I totally forgot about it. Thank you Becca 🙂
Oh wow that’s so smart to apply it like that. I’m glad it worked for you.
I haven’t tried it. Sorry Wendy. I don’t remember what we did with the rug. We don’t have it anymore. It’s been a while. Let me know if you tried it. MY only concern with scotch gaurd is it won’t last long. it’ll wear off fast.