Disclaimer: We are getting con-fi-dent in this creative DIY world. It’s like a semi-addiction- once you successfully conquer one DIY, you can’t stop. We can’t lie, our latest project makes us a little giddy inside- we consider it our most genius DIY yet. Brace yourselves!

Even though the office isn’t quite complete yet, we decided to share one of our favorite makeover projects that we’ve tackled thus far. We’d been searching high and low for a gold-speckled rug for the office ever since we laid eyes on the one in Freda Salvador’s San Francsico boutique. Unfortunately, theirs was from Spain {no thanks, shipping costs!}. We bookmarked a couple of other options online that were ok, but finding the right color hide with the added gold accents we loved was a challenge and not to mention, they were running close to $800!

Determined to do this on the cheap, we dug a little deeper and found this DIY that inspired us to gold speckle our own rug. We bought a super affordable one {under $300!} on Amazon and put our skills to the test- woot!

gold-hide-rug-diy-tools

Have no fear, we’re not pulling your leg when we say that this is the easiest DIY you’ll ever tackle- the results are ah-mazing! All you need is your favorite gold spray paint {we love Design Master’s in 24kt or 12kt gold!} and a cowhide {Amazon, Ikea, Overstock all have great, affordable options!}.

hide-rug-diy

Step 1: In a well ventilated space, spray paint into side of cap, in a heavy, concentrated stream. You’ll want a small puddle of wet paint in the cap.

diy-hide-rug

Step 2: From about 12 inches from the rug, drip paint quickly. You’ll start seeing a pretty even amount of big and small splatters.

gold-hide-rug

Step 3: To achieve smaller drips and splatters, stand up and “throw” the paint onto the rug. This technique creates nice movement on the piece.

hide-rug-2

Step 4: Step back and take a look at your handy work! Go into areas that need specific gold spots and drop paint closer to rug, about 4-6 inches above. You should achieve bigger spots with this technique. Remember: the more paint in the cap, the bigger the gold spot.

We found the “drop” technique was our favorite in order to achieve the look we wanted. Take a few minutes prior to starting, practicing all three techniques on a scrap cloth to see which you like best!

Gold-hide-rug-diy

And 10 minutes later {you move fast when working with wet paint!} you have your finished product! We LOVE the way the rug came out, but you’ll have to wait for the full reveal in the office to see it all. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, is there a spot in your house that could use a little update? You have to try this DIY for yourself- for less than $300 you can achieve a look of a high end rug that would have cost three times the price. It looks like we’re slowly leaving the “DI-buy” team for the DIY team!

original photography for apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick 

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13 Comments

  1. That is killer. Every designer is kicking themselves right now for not thinking of this earlier & praising you at the same time for letting them in on the idea! haha. Love it.

  2. I LOVE the rug! Can you tell me the size? I have a hard time deciding which size of hide to buy for my living room.