Happy Matting

Our apartment in SF had a front entry which connected to a long hallway leading to the back living room. When we moved in we both agreed we needed to cover the floor. I thought of the matting I once saw once in the very back of Pier1 store. It was a straw-like matting which you could buy by the square foot very inexpensively. I went to the closest Pier1 and roughly estimated how much I would need to make a "custom carpet look" for our rental. I then lugged the stack of mats back to our place. It was a fun project- the mat was made up of 1x1ft squares which were attached with a durable white string. I used the long part (8 ft long) to fill the front space pictured below:

Then I cut the mat to a more narrow size for the long hallway.
Next, I took clear fishing line and sewed the two large pieces together so it looked like a backwards "L". Sorry I couldn't locate a good picture of this.

I loved our carpet- it was durable and I could vacuum over it or pick it up easily to get the sand out from underneath. Also, it was cheap so I didn't care if it got stained. I even replaced a square once when one started to tear at the corner.

When we moved to Encintas, I kept the long runner portion and re-purposed it below:

I have no idea if Pier1 still carries this matting in-store. I recall Cost-Plus World Market had something similar if you have one nearby, give it a shot.

If you like this look - it is casual and outdoorsy feeling - I stumbled upon this at Pottery Barn. It is obviously a little nicer than my Pier1 matting - but it is the same look. I also noticed that they offer it in a 6x6 and 8x8 size as well as a larger 9x12 so if you have a square room/large entry way or a larger porch or room, you could use this carpet.

Have a great weekend!!