This genius Dunelm rug hack transformed my living room wall – and cost just £38

At Ideal Home, we spend a good chunk of our free time finding ways to make our homes feel a little more special without parting with too much cash. Whether I'm rummaging in vintage shops, restyling my shelves, or trying out easy DIY projects, the purposeful pottering never stops.

So when I saw this genius DIY wall hanging using a £29 Dunelm rug by Paula (@bird_in_the_north on Instagram), I was over on the Dunelm website like a shot.

The Dunelm rug wall hanging hack

What I bought

To recreate Paula's living room wall decor idea, I ordered the runner, available at Dunelm. Then, I got a thick, semi-circular dowel cut to 70cm at my local DIY shop. The rug is 60cm wide so this left 5cm on either side.

I also bought a picture rail hook, some natural twine and some strong glue suitable for fabrics, at Amazon. This all came to about £38 – not bad for a gigantic piece of wall art.

When the rug arrived, I was really pleased with it. I love the black semi-circular pattern and was tempted to use it for its original purpose for a bit, but it would have got grubby in no time.

I tend to live in cream jeans and a black T-shirt, and am all for dressing like your home. Or, more accurately, decorating your home like your wardrobe, taking colours and patterns you like wearing and using them in your home.

How I made it

I roughly measured the wall space where the rug would go, and then used an entire small tube of glue to apply a strip of glue along the area below the dowel. Then, I quickly folded around 30cm of the rug over it, and luckily the glue didn't stick to the dowel.

I left the glue to dry for a bit with heavy books resting on it, my bath mat protecting the carpet underneath. After an hour or so, I tied some twine to the dowel and hung it up. I was totally unprecise and haphazard every step of the way, and it still turned out great.

It's a nice cosy living room idea that brings in some texture and pattern, as well as softening the acoustics a little. Paula from @bird_in_the_north stitched her runner onto a thinner dowel than mine and attached hers to the wall.

I'm no seamstress, so decided to try some glue, and as I rent I thought I'd just use the picture rail rather than making any holes in the wall. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and buying something similar, like this wall hanging from Cox & Cox would've cost a lot more. 

Would you try this hack?