5 DIY Rug Ideas That Are Anything But Flat

With this in mind, Garcia grabbed a Sharpie and an old rug from her closet. “I turned it around, traced the general shape, then went to town with some kitchen scissors.” (Having done this, she recommends using a utility knife for any future carpet cutouts.) With this freestyle approach to a DIY rug, anything’s possible. Cut a rectangular rug into a circle. Cut a round rug into a rectangle or a triangle or a squiggle or anything else you can think of—just watch your fingers.

 5. Brighten an entryway with a colorful cutout 

Motion graphics designer turned content creator who goes by Tay BeepBoop got started with DIY renovation by diving into the deep end: She bought a 120-year-old house in San Francisco and determined to make it her own. This gargantuan project began, appropriately enough, with the entryway. (Since then, she’s taken a deep dive into making psychedelic DIY rugs.)

Tay BeepBoop tried dyeing the existing carpet, riddled with decades of stains, to no avail, then had the idea to replace it with a rug. “I could use any rug that I love, cut it to size and fit it into the entryway,” she says. She found a rug on Facebook Marketplace and did just that, but the rug’s height made opening the front door impossible. She had two choices: Either plane the door to fit the rug, which would maintain the rug’s height but limit potential for future renovation, or shave down the rug itself.

A set of men’s grooming clippers didn’t cut it, so she turned to a set of sheep shears, which may be an unusual DIY tool. They made short work of the rug, which she then stapled to the floor. “It was the first thing I did in the house and it’s the first thing I see when I walk in,” she says. “It’s like a piece of history.”

This project is ideal for small carpeted spaces like entryways and is easiest with a rug the same height as the carpet you’re replacing, so you don’t need to invest in sheep shears. 

To make a statement entryway, you’ll need: 

Step 1: Remove the old carpet. You may need to start by removing baseboards or shoe molding. Lift a corner of the rug, using a pry bar if necessary, then grab it with gloved hands and pull it up and out. If your entryway isn’t too big, you should be able to remove it all in one piece.