DIY Painted Abstract Door Mat

Lynn Lilly
Updated

Here at Southern Living, we love a good DIY. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Craft Box Girls – led by craft guru and author Lynn Lilly – are creating fun, easy-to-make projects to spice up your entertaining, wedding planning, or holiday gifting.

I continue to have an obsession with creating front porch decor. If you follow my posts, you've probably seen all my front door ideas: like my DIY Lattice Flower Wall and Hanging Mason Jar Flower Vase. I am now focused on creating fun and festive door mats. Here is my first go at creating an abstract, colorful doormat – and it turned out really well!

The Project: DIY Painted Abstract Door Mat

Materials:

  • Various colors of acrylic paint

  • Painter's tape

  • Straight or T pins

  • Medium to large paintbrushes

  • Disposable plates

  • Deep pile coir mat

Directions:

  1. Lay your mat on flat covered surface. Using your painter's tape, create an abstract design, stretching tape across, up, and down the mat.

  2. Once you are satisfied with your design, secure the tape with the straight pins. Use the straight pins in areas where the tape is not sticking or laying flat on the mat.

  3. Start with one color of paint and pour a generous amount on a disposable plate. Using your brush, start with one area of the mat and fill in with paint. The coir will absorb the paint so be prepared to use a generous amount. Fill in a few of the sections with this color and then move on to your other colors until all sections are filled.

  4. Once you are finished painting, let the mat partially dry for 10 minutes.

  5. After 10 minutes carefully remove all the pins and the painter's tape. Be extra careful, because the paint is still wet.

  6. Let the mat dry for 3-4 hours before proudly displaying it!

Pro Tip: Create your own monogram stencils with cardstock paper, attach to the mat with repositionable adhesive spray, and use acrylic or spray paint to paint.