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The Frugal Homemaker

Your guide to turning your house into a home... one DIY project and yard sale find at a time

Day 8– Reuse and refresh your own things

October 9, 2011

31 days button

This post is part of a 31 day series – “31 days to decorate your home on a budget.”  You can read all the posts in this series here.

And if you don’t want to miss a post you can subscribe by email, join me on facebook, or follow this blog in your reader.  Thanks for reading along!

To decorate your home on a budget, you are going to have to think outside the box.  Think of ways you can re-use items you already have with just small changes. Smile

I had this rug that I bought at Kohl’s many years ago.  I loved it because it had interchangeable inserts that I could replace or change with the seasons (and the inserts would be about $3 on sale.)  But sadly a year after I bought it they stopped carrying the inserts.  Sad smile   So now I am having to make the ones I have last or bite the bullet and buy a whole new rug.  I had seen quite a few people paint or stencil rugs and thought I bet I can do that with my rug!

DSC_0181

I thought it would be fun to do a chevron pattern! Smile  I first painted the rug with some cheap brown spray paint to cover up what was left of the “welcome.”  Then I sprayed it with with a dark red spray paint.  Now was the fun part – taping off my chevron pattern – it took a few minutes but it wasn’t that hard.

After the tape was applied I sprayed the exposed rug with gray spray paint.DSC_0194

And this is what I was left with!

It’s fun and fresh! Smile 

DSC_0446(And it matches my front door!)  Although it is not very fall themed?? Don’t worry, I have another one I can use for fall, but this will be perfect for all throughout the year.

DSC_0445

If I had a Cricut or Silhouette machine (hint, hint…can someone reading this tell my hubby Christmas is just 2 months away?  Winking smile), I might have attempted to do some sort of stenciled word or object. 

But making something that was eventually headed for the trash…

DSC_0181-1

fun and fresh again!?  That is an accomplishment in my book!

DSC_0444-1

So how about you?  Do you reuse items in your home?  What are some things you have reused or repurposed?

{cj}

8 Comments LABELS ~ 31 days to decorate your home on a budget

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« Day 7 – Use FREE printables as art
Day 9 – Shop at Thrift stores »

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Comments

  1. Sally says

    October 9, 2011 at 11:43 PM

    I.love.that.idea! I have 2 outdoor rugs that I figured were just ready for the trash. Mine are really filthy, though – possibly I could spray them with the jet nozzle!? My question is – will that paint come off?

    Reply
    • Christina says

      October 10, 2011 at 1:51 AM

      Sally,

      I would definitely clean yours and let it dry completely before painting. Forgot to mention that I did that to mine before painting.

      As for how well it will hold up – only time will tell! 🙂 Maybe I will update this post in 6 months or so whether or not it is holding up

      Thanks for coming over and commenting!

      Reply
  2. Peggy says

    October 10, 2011 at 2:23 AM

    I love your blog. I am so glad Nester had this event so that I found you. You are a jewel!

    Reply
    • Christina says

      October 12, 2011 at 4:43 AM

      awww – thanks so much, Peggy! Thanks for coming over via Nester! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Latoya @The Scotts Crib says

    November 30, 2011 at 8:09 PM

    Hi Christina, this is a lovely idea. I have a mat at my kitchen door that is in bad shape and I have plenty of duct tape and spray paint that will get the job done:) Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Christina says

      December 2, 2011 at 12:01 AM

      you are welcome! Ours has been outside by the front door for 2 months now so it gets constant use. I see a “little” wear but barely noticeable so it is holding up good! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kathy says

    August 8, 2012 at 11:36 AM

    Awesome idea Christina! I wish now that I’d saved my “old” door mat instead of trashing it!! Well…as soon as this one wears down (and it will) I will be breaking out the spray paint…thank you for your beautiful ideas and the pictures of your gorgeous home…you are truly a talented homemaker!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Day 28–Spray paint your décor says:
    October 29, 2011 at 11:36 PM

    […] have talked about spray painting light fixtures and even using spray paint to refresh a rug, seriously though, spray paint can transform just about […]

    Reply

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Hi!  My name is Christina . . .

I love doing simple, frugal things to make our house feel like HOME! Come learn along with me how to have a beautiful home on a budget.

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