DIY Kitchen Mat Tutorial

DIY Kitchen Floor Mat

I haven’t even moved into my new house yet but I’m already working on some fun things to put inside it...despite my internship monopolizing my daylight hours : ) I’ve seen a few tutorials online for floor mats and I have cobbled together some of things I’ve seen along with some ideas of my own to make this adorable little mat!  I wanted something to go in front of the sink, but this would make a great doormat too. This mat has several things going for it: 1. You can use almost any patterned fabric you want. 2. It’s lightweight but sturdy 3. You can wipe it clean 4. It’s fairly inexpensive.

Materials:

2 vinyl flooring squares (I think they are 12”x12”) – mine had adhesive on the back

Duct Tape

1 yd fabric (Mine was a duck cloth type)

Note: I would avoid solids and light colors as the polyurethane will change the color slightly.  Apparently this can be avoided by using water-based polyurethane…but I’ve never tried water-based polyurethane)

Polyurethane

Paint brush

Scissors

Step 1:

Use the duct tape to connect your two squares of vinyl flooring. If your tiles are adhesive on the back like mine were, peel back the adhesive a little before taping.  Tape on both sides to make sure it is secure.  Wrap the tape around the edges. Make sure to make it as smooth as you can.  I’ve seen other bloggers use vinyl flooring remnants at cut it to the size they want.  However, I did not have a remnant handy, and the ones at the store were so big they would have been too expensive (also, what would I have done with all the extra?!)  By using the squares, I had less waste, they were the perfect shape, and they were only about 6 dollars total!

Two Vinyl Squares (look at that lovely faux stone finish :)

Step 2:

Peel the paper backing off completely. If your vinyl doesn’t have the adhesive back, use spray adhesive.  I used both because I really wanted the fabric to stick and I didn’t fully trust the adhesive backing.  Place the fabric right side up (wrong side goes down on the sticky stuff).  Smooth it out and don’t leave any wrinkles!

Yep; That is my hand shadow.

Step 3:

Before you wrap the fabric around the corners, apply one coat of polyurethane.  This way the edges get some of the treatment before you wrap the fabric around.

Step 4:

Once the first coat has dried, flip the mat over.  Cut off excess fabric (leave about 3 inches all around).  Pull the fabric tight; fold the edges over and use duct tape to secure them.  It doesn’t matter that it looks ugly because this is the bottom part.  Fold the corners like you’re wrapping a present.

Step 5:

Flip it back over and give it another coat of polyurethane. Let it dry.  Repeat this process until you’ve done 7-8 coats of polyurethane. At first the mat will feel rough but as you get to the last coats it will feel smoother- this is what makes it waterproof and wipeable. This isn’t exactly a fast project because you have to wait for the polyurethane to dry- I did a coat every day or so (or 2 on a Saturday, how exciting!)

Step 6:

Enjoy your fantastic new kitchen mat!

Did I mention the floors? This house has no carpet.  It's THE BEST!!!

Welcome Home!

Special thanks to my awesome Mom for helping out with the first few steps!