DIY Entry Mat

So the last few weeks I’ve been working on sprucing up my back porch.  One of the items I wanted to upgrade was the entry mat.  I’ve been sporting the mat the builder gave me when I moved into the house 5 years ago and to say that it could be improved is an understatement.  Here’s the mat with my lovely model Ginger.

So I decided to inject a bit of color into the situation with a few quick supplies I picked up at Home Depot:

• 1 Natural Fiber Mat
• Painter’s Tape (Which I had laying around)
• Spray Paint

I made a quick pattern taping off in two different colors so I could get an idea of the stripe color blocking.  In the end, I preferred the painter’s tape to the duct tape because it was so hot outside when I did this project that some of the duct tape adhesive left a sticky mess on the back side of the mat.

Now you’re ready to apply the color.  Just try not to shoot the spray paint at the sides of the tape and even if the tape isn’t sticking to the mat very well, you’ll find it makes a crisp line.

And for the big reveal:

Pretty nice edges if I do say so myself.  I let the paint dry throughly.  Since it’s 104 outside, this took all of 15 minutes.  I then re-taped to cover the red and painted on the green.

Excellent!  A color coordinated entry mat for less than $15 in about 2 hours.

–Martta