Super Easy DIY Plant Door Mat (30 minutes)

If you’re looking for a simple, cheap & fun way to add a ‘plant lady’ vibe to your entry way – this project is for you!

Supplies:

All the product links are at the end of this post, or on my Plant Products Page (in the top navigation bar).

  • Decoart writer tips
  • Decoart multi surface satin acrylic paint
  • Coir Door Mat
  • Firm Paint Brushe(s)
  • Letter stencils (optional)
  • A ruler *or something to use for measuring – could use a box of tissues, a book, sticky notes, etc.
  • Tape (just to mark off where you are going to be writing. I used printed tape so you could see it, but any kind of tape will do.)
  • Pencil / Paper for sketching out how you want your mat to look!

All together, this project cost me less than $20, with an Ikea Coir Door Mat, Paint, Brushes, and Tips for the Paint. (pro tip: Michaels & Joann fabrics ALWAYS have coupons, and they accept competitors coupons. While I provided some of the Amazon links below, incase you don’t want to go to a store for the products, I also included the Ikea / Michaels links!)

Planning:

Once you have gathered your supplies, you will need to decide on what you want to write, and how you are going to write it on the door mat. I recommend planning out how many words you are going to fit on each line, so it is evenly spaced. I created a Pinterest board for DIY projects, with a section called ‘Door Mats’ with some ideas! (check it out for inspiration!)

Here are some of my favorites:

  • A Plant Lady Lives Here
  • There is like a lot of plants in here
  • Just so you know there is like a lot of plants in here
  • Welcome to the Jungle
  • I hope you like Plants
  • Be Nice of Leaf
  • Aloe there
  • No Pricks Allowed
  • Life’s a Garden, Dig it
  • Love Grows Here
  • Gardeners live here. It gets DIRTY.

Prep:

The first step once you have a game plan in place is to measure and mark your mat.  You are going to  use your ruler and tape, to measure and tape off so that the writing is pretty even. I personally taped off about 2 inches around the boarder, a couple spots in the center of the mat, and where I wanted the lines of text to be.

Then, attach one of your squeeze tips to the paint. FYI – the squeeze tips I purchased had a protector foil inside of them. Remove this before attaching. I did not, and it was messy getting it out after I squeezed the paint in.

Painting:

The first round of painting, it just going to be a very thin, first coat on the words. Simply write out the saying onto the mat, and don’t worry about making the lettering thick or getting it into the mat. (warning, the first go, the paint did splatter off of the fibers of the mat a little. You may want to put something down around you).

Round 2, Painting:

This step is arguably the most important, because it is going to be what makes the lettering pop, as well as makes it stay in place and last, even after many feet touch ground on it.  You are going to want to go one, maybe 2 letters at a time, being careful not to put your hand down on the other wet letters as you go. Using your paint, go over the letters with another thicker coat of paint, then, using your paint brush (I used the flat square one in the pack of Crayola paint brushes, because to me, it had the most firm feel to it, and the flat brush was ideal) you are going to want to firmly dab the fresh paint into the mat. Going over the entire letter.

The paint does start to dry and will clump and make it more difficult to dab into the mat, as well as make it easier to accidentally put your hand into the wet paint, which is why you want to go one letter at a time for this step.

Finishing your Door Mat:

Once you have gone over all of the letters, you can review your mat and see if there is any letters that don’t look as thick or dark as the others, and make any final touches. Then, remove your tape markers, put the cap on your paint, and put the mat somewhere to dry for at least 24 hours. Although it will feel dry to the touch well before that, you don’t want shoes tracking paint around on your floors, so it is better to make sure it is COMPLETELY dry.

Then, place the mat on your stoop! For an extra pop of detail, use a thin, larger, mat underneath, such as one with fringe, a striped or festive mat!

 

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Products Used (all products are also listed on my Plant Products Page!)

Product Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a small commission. (Thank you! ) We are constantly learning more about our plants, what they enjoy and what we genuinely like using, so the list is ever evolving! We also post a lot about the products we currently using on our Instagram.