A practical and budget-friendly option for creating a cozy conversation area on a backyard deck. This tutorial will show how to stain a super easy DIY outdoor rug, with a quicker injury-free approach than how I did mine.

Super Easy DIY Stained Outdoor Area Rug

Deck Makeover - Project Four

Refreshing our outdoor living space on a beer budget!

When planning our summer deck makeover projects, one of the things at the top of the list was adding an area rug beside our DIY Water Wall. Unfortunately, here in the Canadian prairies, outdoor rugs take a beating.

First, there's the annoyance of having to store them during our long harsh winters. Then during the summer, they need to be swept daily, if not more, to stay clean because of our dry dusty climate.

So painting, or rather staining an area rug was the perfect compromise. No need for winter storage and a quick spray with a garden hose can keep it looking clean. Besides, we also saved a ton of cash because, for the same cost as an outdoor area rug, we were able to complete several DIY deck projects with the same two gallons of premium stain.

What not to do when staining an outdoor rug

This is the project that nearly did me in and THE reason I was MIA on the blog for nearly two weeks.


My first mistake was staining the rug on my hands and knees. I did it this way because we have narrow deck boards and in order for the colors not to overlap, I carefully stained it with a 2-inch angle brush.

Unfortunately, after two full afternoons creating this lovely hand painted rug, what I didn't realize was that the constant pressure of my opened left hand supporting my upper body would lead to a pinched nerve.

On day three I woke up with a completely numb hand - I couldn't move a finger if I tried. It took weeks of wearing the brace, exercises, and massage to get my hand to the point where three fingers functioned again. I'm still working on the pinky and ring finger a month later.

Mapping the DIY outdoor rug

The first order of business was to clean the deck. It's best if you use a power washer or garden hose, depending on how dirty the deck. Fortunately, we had just given ours a fresh coat of stain so all I had to do was a sweep.

Next, map out the size of the rug you want. You can see in the photo below I mapped ours in both directions for a visual comparison. First I marked the measurement with a stick of chalk and then placed painters tape on the marks.

Based on symmetry with the front and side steps, we decided to run the 10' x 8 1/2' rug perpendicular to the house.

Stain choice for the DIY outdoor rug

The deck is stained in a transparent tinted stain - see my Budget-Friendly Deck Restore when replacement isn't an option post.

For the rug, we chose solid stain in the colors Sea Foam green (to match the deck skirt) and Navajo White. I labeled the colors designated for each deck board with a stick of chalk - G for green, W for white, B for a border.

How to stain an outdoor rug, the right way!

Now here's the part where I wish I had stained the outdoor rug this way. Instead of getting down on your hands and knees and staining the rug with a 2-inch angle brush like I did, save your knees, and your hand, by using a 3-inch wide x 3/8-inch nap trim roller and extension pole (product links in materials list).

A 3/8 inch nap is recommended for solid wood stains. A 3-inch wide roller is small enough to easily stain the narrow deck boards without overlapping the colors.

I could use your help