Fabric covered rugs in the kitchen

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April 30, 2016:  Last Sunday I was browsing the Cost Plus World Market in Rockville, MD, looking for ideas and inspiration. World Market is a great source for this – I love the vibrant colors, patterns and designs of their furniture and home decor accessories (and they have great jewelry and apparel too). And their items have that bohemian vibe that speaks to me. The style is international in nature, and while it’s very cool and hip in the look, it’s also timeless in their beauty.

As with many items that I come across at the World Market, glancing at this one in passing made me stop and roll my cart in reverse to take a closer look.

This shower curtain is absolutely gorgeous, isn’t it? I love the bold, colorful mandala pattern. In all of my favorite colors – magenta, orange, green, yellow, jade blue…

Too bad I don’t need shower curtains for my bathroom sliding glass door. Would love it if this came in a rug for the kitchen.

Wait a minute…

I found myself thinking of the fabric shower curtain projects I did last July (my kneeling pads and my “Sometime the obvious solution…” bins). What if I can cover the two older, worn 3 x 5 rugs with this fabric?

I tossed the shower curtain in my cart and headed to checkout.

Below is a picture of one of my 3 x 5 accent rugs covered in the fabric.

After going back and forth about how to best use the fabric for my rug makeover (Permanent cover with iron-on fusing tape? Or removable with fabric velcro?), I decided take the quick and easy route. Wrap the rug in the fabric, tuck and fold the corners, and tape down with masking tape.

That’s it!

I loved how the rug looked (and even more importantly, felt under my feet). The cushioning of the rug underneath the cool, soft fabric feels heavenly, especially when you’re standing in the kitchen for extended periods of time cooking, cleaning and doing projects.

So today I picked up another shower curtain from World Market (same style).

I wanted two matching rugs in the kitchen (still working hard to get the kitchen rugs coordinated in some way, shape or form).

And plus, it occurred to me why I like this pattern so much. These are my melamine plates that I bought from Bed, Bath and Beyond over a year ago. They are prominently displayed on the kitchen counter because I love the pattern so much.

See the resemblance?

So, to cover the rug, first lay out the fabric (in this case, the shower curtain).

Place the rug in the center of the fabric.

Fold the fabric over the rug on each side.

Like wrapping a present, tuck in the ends using triangle folds…

…and fold the end over the rug.

No now it’s time for some DIY fabric fusing magic. You ready?

Tape the folded end of the fabric to the back of the rug with masking tape.

Yes, you read that correctly. Masking tape.

Because no one is going to see the bottom of the rug, masking tape is okay to use for this project (in fact, it’s brilliant!).

And if someone decides to pick up your rug and ask you about it, tell them:

• It’s fast
• Easy
• Non-visible
• Promotes anti-slippage (Helps make the rug stay in place)
• And removable (so that you can take off and machine wash the fabric whenever it’s needed).

Now that the rug is wrapped, it’s time to iron or steam the fabric (I chose steaming.

To steam the rug, I had to get it vertical. I used the over-the-cabinet rods on the pantry doors and binder clips to hold the rug up.

And here I am steaming the rug. (This is a rare photo of me in front of the camera while I do a project. I’m getting the hang of my need phone tripod and Camera app timer).

 

After using my handheld steamer to steam away the wrinkles on the fabric…

…it’s ready for use. Here’s the rug I just wrapped in front of the stove.

 

I like having matching rugs now in the kitchen. What’s nice about this method is that you can coordinate (and customize) any rug you want just by selecting and switch out your fabrics.

So there’s one in front of the stove and the other in front of dish ware cabinets. Perfect.

And Mother’s Day is exactly one week away. Here’s a preview of the project that I’m working on for Xenia.

Want to guess what this box is for? V-