They say first impressions count, so I wanted to bring an element of fun to the first impression for any of my house guests. Even though there are so many out there to buy, I had trouble finding a door mat that I liked so thought I’d have a go at making my own with a bit of paint. I looked at a few different ideas, visualising them first to see what would work.
In the end I went for a speech bubble idea for awelcoming doormat. I wanted to make sure it was durable and the paint wouldn’t come off when I rubbed it with wet feet so I needed to use a paint that would be suitable for exterior and interior use. My hallway has a wooden floor so I wasn’t too worried about paint transferring from the mat if wet. It should be fine as I used a waterproof exterior paint and I tested it myself but if you’re at all worried about paint transfer then this is maybe not the project for you.
You could customise your door mat any way you like, but here’s a little how-to for my ‘Hello You’ speech bubble.
What you’ll need:
Plain Coir Doormat, black marker for marking shape, stanley knife, suitable exterior oil based paint, stencil
Step 1. Draw your speech bubble shape on the doormat with a black marker, using the straight edges that are there to save you having to cut too much. Then cut out the shape with a stanley knife. It’s just the rubber backing you need to cut through so not as tough as you’d think.
I did try this with strong scissors as in the picture but they weren’t quite up to this job so I’d recommend a stanley knife! oops!
Step 2. Lay out your design onto the mat, I used a set of reusable stencil letters but you could cut them out of cardboard and stick down with spray glue while you paint over them. Alternatively, print your own design onto photocopyable acetate and cut out with a craft knife.
Step 3. Get painting. I used Rust-Oluem Universal All Surface Paint in matt black. I’d normally say paint in thin coats, but for this you need to really load your brush as the mat soaks up so much paint. Brush it on in different directions to ensure the best coverage. Take it slowly though when you get to the letters to make sure they don’t slip around and try to coat the mat in one thick coat.
Step 4. Remove the stencil and as Universal All Surface paint is oil based I recommend you leave the mat to dry for around a week to let the paint fully cure before you use it. It was still sticky for a few days after painting. I’m a bit of a messy creative and I got messier than usual with this one! And remember you‘ll need to wash your brushes out in white spirit. 
Disclaimer: Please do test this though with wet feet and give it a good scuff before you use it on top of your carpets. My blog is just about getting creative and trying things out, and my posts are just guidelines not hard and fast rules. Thanks.
All round creative junkie 