The winds of change are a-comin’! With summer drawing to a close, I’m realizing how much I’ve learned to adapt over the last few months. And moving into a new house is just the icing on the cake. Of course, I’m thrilled about #TheHouseThatLarsBought, but still, change is change. There’s this scene in the first episode of a Peacock (NBCUniversal’s new streaming service) TV show called Five Bedrooms where five homeowners cross over the doormat into their (shared) new home. It makes me think of starting a new chapter, beginning fresh, and rolling with the punches. When I had a similar experience and walked through the doorway of my new house for the first time, all I could see was this hideous old doormat that got left behind. It’s so bad guys. If I could just change that doormat, this place would look a heck of a lot nicer. And cleaner. So that’s what I’m doing!! Got to love when inspiration for the perfect DIY rainbow doormat comes from great entertainment like Five Bedrooms!
My latest tv show binge
I remember talking with my brother about the show maybe a year ago. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, where the show has been out for a while now. It’s just about to premiere for viewers in the US and I’m so excited!! August 13th is going to be a binge day; it’s already calendared in. This show is seriously perfect for me and I’m assuming you too if you’re into a Friends meets HGTV interserction. It has everything I could possibly want!
It’s technically a romantic comedy series, but the characters are all new homeowners. Mind you, these homeowners are a bit different from Paul and I. They are five perfect strangers who met at the singles table of a wedding!! One member of the quintet (tipsily) suggests that they co-invest in a home together, as the five singletons have more buying power than your average family. The house they buy is a fixer upper like mine, and I gotta tell you. It’s so refreshing to see someone do a remodel on TV who’s not a professional contractor/design duo *cough cough Chip and Joanna.* What I wouldn’t do to turn Paul into a contractor…
Anyway! While I don’t exactly share the house with five randos, the remodel struggle is relatable!! The Five Bedrooms makeover was particularly tough due to unexpected shenanigans, and the fact that they’re trying to mesh five independent styles into one home. Melding mine and Paul’s respective design preferences is something that I find exciting, and this DIY doormat is one way I intend to do it! I love a good challenge. If only I’d been hired as the interior designer in the show. If you’re out there, Peacock producers, pick me for the next one! A girl can dream, right?
Get crafty while you watch a new show!
Adding happy personal touches is one thing I’m doing to stay energized during the remodel stages of my own renovation. There’s a welcome mat that came with the door and it’s old and crumbling and honestly, so depressing. I’ve been wanting to change it ever since we moved in. Yes, I know it’s silly to make little decor items for a house I haven’t moved into yet. But, this is the kind of thing that I need to get excited about in order to proceed with the rest of the logistical nightmare that is home renovations. Excitement and creativity feed off each other, and I need something that keeps those juices flowing.
Cue my doormat plans. The DIY rainbow doormat of my dreams is a cute semi-circle made out of natural fibers. Nothing fancy needed! You can get a similar one at pretty much any store that sells homegoods. I’m going to paint 3-inch wide arched stripes in a color scheme that will go with the new house. It’ll be a little rainbow! Any excuse to show off a good color scheme is not something I’ll let pass me by. Which reminds me – don’t miss the premier of Five Bedrooms! It’s not the kind of show you want to miss. Here is the trailer!
Link to Trailer: here
How to make your DIY rainbow doormat
Materials:
- Doormat – we used this one!
- Interior House Paint – At Home Depot you can get any color mixed and get in in a sample size for just a few bucks!
- Paint Brush
- Painter’s Tape
Instructions:
- Decide the shape of the rainbow you would like to paint on your mat. We used a 18 x 30 inch half circle braided doormat.
- Pick a color palette! We chose mustard yellow, orange-red, and blush pink.
- Draw the lines for the arches of the rainbow. We painted the innermost arch 7 inches tall and the middle and outer arch each 5 inches tall.
- In order to get clean lines, you will need to tape off every other color section. Tape off the innermost arch first.
- Get your brush full of paint (we used mustard yellow first) and dab into the small innermost arch. *If you choose a mat with a coarse texture like we did, you will need to dab firmly to make sure the paint saturates the rug fully*
- Once it dries, remove the tape. *Drying will vary, but can take up to 2 hours. It is important to make sure you allow enough time for the arches to dry so the paint will not pull up the already painted arches. When the painted sections have dried, you can tape off the other sections. Or you can use a hair dryer to make the process go faster.*
- Next, paint the middle arch by adding tape to the innermost arch you just painted and then add tape above it about 5 inches up to create your inner arch. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with your next color for the middle arch.
- Continue on your last arch by repeating steps 4-7.
The symbol of having one completed item in my new house is so important to me–it makes me feel like we can get through all the dust and scheduling and there is something bright at the end of the rainbow 😉 Can’t wait to see your rainbow doormat! Tag us with #LarsMakes so we can see them!
This post is sponsored by Peacock but all opinions are my own!