I have been looking everywhere for an attractive but practical carpet runner for our mud room. We had a carpet made for the tight area (years ago) but I find that the winter is very hard on the light colour and it always looks dirty. Most of the utility mats that I found were either too wide or too small (or too ugly) for the area so I decided to get creative. I came across a okay looking, 3 x 4' brown utility mat at my local big box store for $9.99. The only problem was that only one brown mat was left. I mentioned to the salesman that the carpet was a little wider then I wanted and he suggested I just cut it with scissors. This gave me the idea to buy 2 mats in different colours (brown & grey) and splice the cut pieces together. So that's what I did...
Before- tape (cut) line marked on carpet
The only casualty of the day...
After-
What you will need:
- 2 (or whatever number you want) utility mats (with rubber underside)
- scissors (good & sharp)
- tape
- measuring tape
How to do it:
Begin by measuring the physical area for the carpet and determine the dimensions of the finished product. Next, decide how you would like to arrange the carpet pieces e.g. I went with one stripe of grey carpet on either end of the brown carpet to form a long runner. Once you have the dimensions and arrangement figured out, on the carpet itself mark where you would like to cut with a long piece of tape. Use the measuring tape to make sure your tape (i.e. cut) line is straight on all sides. Verify that the tape is secure and will not move once you begin cutting. Once you are convinced that your tape line is straight (i.e. measure twice-cut once), using sharp scissors cut the carpet along your tape line. Repeat this procedure for all cuts until you have the pieces you need for your carpet arrangement. Once you are complete, simply place the carpet pieces next to one another (butted up) and the rubber underside will prevent them from moving around.
