Upcycled Outdoor Welcome Mat

Before you go ahead and tell me to just go buy a new one, let me tell you how easy it was to solve the problem with my outdoor mat. 

This mat was inside for awhile, then back outside on the front stoop. 

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For some reason this mat shed little rubber pieces. 

The little pieces were all over my house, every time someone stepped on the mat they brought the little balls in with them. 

Today while sitting on my front porch my daughter asked me why I just don't paint it to seal it. ??

Hmmmm, would that even work? Was it even worth it? 

I mean I could just go buy a new mat for about $15. 

Oh shoot, let's just give it a try and see what happens....

And so I did. 

First I swept off the mat and then I vacuumed it to remove all the dog hair, dirt, and black pieces. 

By the way I love this Shark vacuum, if you're in the market for a new vacuum, this one is light weight and works really well! (even in the driveway! 🤣)

Next, I poured black outdoor paint right onto the mat and started painting. 

I spread the paint with a large paintbrush and a small amount of water. 

(not my best pose)

I left the mat out in the sun to dry then gave it another coat of paint. 

When the mat was dry,  it was time to put it back on the front stoop.

Wow! It sure looks much better than it did before! 

It looks brand new! 

And no little black pieces coming off, the paint did actually seal the mat. 

The mat was sealed with the black paint and hopefully will stay that way for a while. 

I'll keep you updated but for now a quick couple coats of paint gave this mat a few extra months and saved it from the land fill. 

Was it worth it?  Should I just have tossed it and bought a brand new mat? 

I always like to give up-cycling something a try before I toss it into the landfill. 

For example, take a look at the new life I gave to an old kitchen mat. 

Or the Christmas mat I turned into a new bathroom mat?

I think it was well worth the 20 minutes it took to do this project. 

Update: Two months later and my front door mat still looks new! I run the vacuum over the top of it when I'm doing the house and it still looks great! 

Check out the new front door accessory that makes all the difference! 

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