They say inspiration can come from anywhere, and Sheena’s story certainly made us smile. Here’s her letter:
Hey John and Sherry (and Clara and Burger too!) I wanted to thank you for the unintended inspiration. After reading about Clara’s dollhouse, I fell in love with the fabric-sample-turned-rug pattern in the tiny room and had to recreate it. So I did — using a plain rug, some foam insulation, paint, and a sponge brush. Think “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” in reverse, but with decor! 🙂
I used a 3/4-inch-thick piece of insulation styrofoam to make a stamp and repeated the design across the entire rug. You could also use a thick piece of cardboard or packing foam. To give myself something to hold while stamping, I glued a wood block to the back of the foam and attached two folded pieces of cardboard to the outer square.
Starting with the outside square of the pattern, I brushed a coat of paint (Valspar’s Secluded Garden) onto the foam using a small foam brush. Then I stamped the exact center of the rug, which I measured and marked beforehand.
From that center point I worked outward and around the rug until I had a basic lattice layout. Next I stamped the interior motif inside each square, then filled in the shapes by sponging paint with my foam brush.
I let the rug dry for 24 hours before laying it down to avoid tracking wet paint around the house.
There’s another side to this project: I created stripes for the reverse. Using two-inch masking tape, I taped off stripes on the other side of the rug and took it outside to spray several light coats of spray paint. I noticed the spray paint preserved the rug’s texture more effectively than the sponged-on latex paint.
Cost breakdown
- Rug: $20
- Paint: $6 (two sample-sized jars)
- Foam: already had
- Foam brush: already had
- Tape: $4 (used only about 1/8 of the roll)
- Spray paint: $4 (one leftover can and half of another)
- Grand total: $34
Thirty-four dollars for a reversible rug that we can flip depending on our mood, that’s easy to wash, that adds needed pattern and color to our kitchen, and that gives our dish-washin’ feet a soft place to land. Not bad, I’d say! — Sheena
It’s fun to see a dollhouse fabric swatch translated into a full-size rug, and the reversible idea is great (the yellow stripes are Sherry’s favorite). If you want more detail on Sheena’s process, her full tutorial covers the stamped side and the striped side.