How to Paint a Faux Carpet on Your Deck

Clean the area of the deck you wish to paint with soap and water. Let it dry. Measure a 3-foot-by-4-foot rectangle on your deck with the tape measure. Mark the rectangle with the carpenter's pencil, and outline it with masking tape.

Choose a paint color. Using the paint brush, paint the area inside the masking tape. Let the paint dry. Leave the masking tape in place.

Place the 2-foot-by-3-foot piece of cardboard in the center of the newly painted rectangle, allowing 6 inches on all sides between the inside edge of the masking tape and the outside edge of the cardboard. Using the masking tape, securely tape down the edges of the cardboard, keeping the edges of the tape as straight as possible.

Using a clean paint brush, paint a different color between the outside edge of the cardboard and the inside edge of the masking tape to create the border of the rug. Let the paint dry.

Remove all the masking tape. Remove the piece of cardboard and set it aside. Place the decorative stencil in the center of the rectangle, and tape down the edges with masking tape.

Using the stencil brush, dip just the tip of the brush into another color of paint. Tap the bristles of the brush straight down on the piece of cardboard a few times to set the paint into the brush. Tap the ends of the stencil brush over the open spaces of the stencil, repeating the dipping and tapping process, until all open areas of the stencil are filled in with paint. Let the paint dry. Remove the tape and stencil.

Using the artist's brush, in freehand style with another paint color, paint a zig-zag line along each 3-foot edge of the rectangle, to form a row of triangles with the points of the triangles facing outward. Paint a small circle on the tip of each triangle. Paint three short, wavy lines poking out from the top edge of each circle to form the fringe on the rug.