DIY bath mat from a table runner

Bath mats. Not your most exciting DIY project. But when you find a solution to something you’ve been looking for it’s exciting. Trust me.

I’ve been redesigning our kids’ bathroom for what seems like forever. And slowly but surely it’s coming along. Click here to see the (slow) progress. But there’s always one or two (or three) things that just aren’t coming together like you imagined. Or wanted. Or doesn’t fit your budget. One of my obstacles was the space in front of the double sinks. The kids needed rugs here but we also needed a rug or mat to go in front of the shower. It’s not a huge bathroom so that was a lot of rugs in one small area. And I just wasn’t finding the right solution. The more I looked at the space, the more I realized one rug to fit the length of the vanity/sink area would be ideal – like a runner style rug. But most of the runners are too wide and long for the space we have.

Then I stumbled upon this table runner in HomeGoods. And it actually looked more like a jute rug to me than a table runner. It was a little longer than I needed but I figured the jute/natural fibers would be easy to work with and change. See I told you this would be exciting 😉

So here are the steps I did to turn this natural fiber table runner into a bath mat/rug. What I really love about this now rug is that it’s very durable for a bathroom. Oh, and it looks pretty!

Materials needed:

Table runner – I used a natural fiber runner but I think almost any material would work.

Canvas ribbon to trim the ends – since I had to cut my runner, I needed something to cover the trimmed edge. I loved the ribbon as a solution for covering up the frayed edges but also for the added color. So even if you don’t have to cut your runner, ribbon on the edges is a nice finishing touch. I used about 4 yards.

Duck tape – I used this to wrap the trimmed edge before attaching the ribbon.

Non slip rug pad. I bought one that is 20″ x 40″ and cut it into pieces as needed.

Scissors, glue gun, ruler

Instructions:

1. The runner was a bit too long for my space so cut about 6″ off one edge. I used a sharp pair of scissors and trimmed carefully. The edges frayed a bit but not too bad.

2. I wrapped the trimmed edge with duck tape so the fibers wouldn’t fray further and it would be easier to attach the ribbon.

3 Starting with the back of the rug, I hot-glued a piece of the canvas ribbon onto the back and wrapped part of it around to the front.

4. I did the same thing with another piece of ribbon on the front side. I wrapped part of the ribbon around to the back, overlapping the two pieces of ribbon. I wanted a wide trim so I wrapped two pieces of ribbon. If you prefer a narrower trim, you can just wrap one piece of ribbon from the back to the front. I didn’t need to cut the other edge, so I just added the same ribbon trim to that edge.

5. The rug was sliding a little too much on the tile floor so I added this non-slip rug mat.

6. Since it wasn’t the exact size I needed, I cut it into 3 strips to fit my new rug. Using my hot glue, I spot glued these pieces onto the back of the rug. I liked the fact that the rug pad was attached to the rug and wouldn’t keep moving out of place in this busy little bathroom. Since the pad has holes throughout, the hot glue will seep through a bit so be careful when attaching.

5. Now you have a “custom” bath mat – how exciting!

I can’t wait to show you the complete bathroom redesign. Just one or two more projects to finish up now. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and don’t forget to check out my new spring art prints to decorate your walls for the season.