Doormat Wall Art

Simply put, I used a doormat to make art for my walls. Yes, a rubber doormat from Lowe's. It was simple, easy, and I love the finished results.

About a year ago, I came across an article in my "Lowe's Creative Ideas" magazine about this project. I fell in love and thought, "I must add this to my to-do list."

You may have seen this project on other blogging websites, as well, but I originally credit this project idea to Lowe's. I followed their directions in what to purchase, color options, size, etc.

1. Ask a Lowe’s employee (or in my case, my darling husband) to cut each 1 x 12 x 6 board in half, creating four approximately 3-foot-long boards.

2. Sand the boards, and wipe clean. Wearing gloves, apply stain to the boards following the manufacturer’s instructions. Let dry, and repeat with additional coats if needed to achieve the desired finish. Allow to dry completely.





I even lucked out on my Miniwax stain to score and extra bargain. I already had an extra can sitting on my paint shelf so I saved myself a few extra bucks.















After allowing the stain to dry completely, I added an extra step in here (which differs from Lowe's) and actually used blue painter's tape to tape off the areas I did not want spray paint, such as the sides and directly along the edge. I wanted to make sure the top and bottom had a straight edge and the sides were paint free. The tape worked perfectly, but definitely was a little difficult to get straight! It took me a few times.

3. Cover a flat work surface with a drop cloth, and place two of the boards side by side. Position the doormat face up and centered on the boards. Use painter’s tape to cover any exposed areas outside the border of the mat, including the boards’ side edges.

4. Apply a coat of spray primer to the boards through the mat, spraying from straight above. Then apply two or three light coats of spray paint. Note: Heavy coats of paint will blur the stencil design. Allow each coat to dry.



5. Remove the doormat, and repeat Steps 3–4 for the remaining two boards.

I must admit, I was most nervous about Step 5 - removing the doormat. There was a little bit of anxiety and uncertainty of whether or not the spray paint bled or didn't spray through enough.



6. Spray the boards with clear polyurethane. Allow to dry. Hang the boards using picture hangers and appropriate hardware for your wall type.

Voila ~ the finished results!





A few extra tips from blogland.
- Do not use spray paint as the background color and then try to use white spray paint over the doormat. It will bleed.
- Make sure you do not coat the stain to thick or make sure you wipe stain completely. During my last coat of stain, I used a saturated rag to clean up the residue leaving too much stain on the boards. A tacky, sticky board remained. I was bummed. However, a little paint thinner on a rag cleaned it right up and I didn't even need to re-stain.
- Do thin, light coats of white spray paint. It's more effective and will lead to less bleeding of the spray paint.

Good luck!!!!!

This post is linked to:
DIY Show Off, Between Naps on the Porch, Persimmon Perch, It's So Very Cheri.