Once upon a time, there was a sisal rug that had, sadly, outlived it's prime.  It dreamed of being given a makeover and a new home. It dreamed of getting out of the gloomy shed and being unrolled to have a fresh coat of paint lovingly rolled onto it...with the help of fairy frogtape...But alas, it was afraid, for one of it's owners threatened to burn it many times, claiming it wasn't worthy of the space it was taking up. Luckily, fate (and a kindhearted DIYer) knew it's potential and stood between the rug and the impending flames, protecting the potential 

fruition of it's dreams from

becoming just a pile of ash.................

 

Ok that was fun, maybe coffee shouldn't be involved in my type-scapades.  Anyways, this rug was, reluctantly, moved with us when we moved to our current house.  I just kept thinking the thing could be used later somehow.  You know what? I was right, because when I was looking for things to paint for a frogtape contest, I was able to use this rug as one of my projects for the contest and it ended up being one of my favorites.  :)

 

I began by painting it with a wash of watered down beige latex paint to even out the fading on it.  I then studied zebra patterns and got a general idea of what I wanted and taped it off, any painters tape would work for this (you won't hear me say that ever again).  I also ripped the tape on the inside of the zebra pattern where I was going to roll my paint.  I used a small foam roller.  The paint I used was a creamy white outdoor latex (mistint) acrylic that I already had.  I watered it down so it would give a muted effect but avoided getting it too thin and runny.  I pretty much just rolled it on until It all looked uniform.  Later, I painted the edge with an acrylic latex I mixed into a warm tan color (that worked with my floors).

 

I love how it worked out.  In case you didn't know, you can take a bold pattern (one that you'd normally shy away from) and use it in nuetral colors and make it work in most spaces.  I especially like organic patterns; they seem to add a natural dynamic to a room.