Let’s face it, most of us would love to give our home a little more ‘pep’, but we hesitate because it usually costs a hefty amount of time, money, or both.

But if you’ve been itching to give your humble abode a well-deserved makeover without breaking the bank or eating up oodles of time (and you’re not averse to rolling up your sleeves), then look no further.

A brilliant DIY enthusiast, Hailey Cearbaugh, left hundreds of jaws on the floor after showing off a gorgeous checkered rug she made with zero sewing required.

The sleek home decor cost her $129 to create, hundreds less than the rug’s higher-end version available in various designer stores.

She shared footage of the process on TikTok and it clocked over half a million views in the span of just a few days.

First, she got her hands on two rugs of equal size (a black and a white one) from her local store and cut them into small squares using a template (the size of which is 12.7 by 12.7 centimetres). 432 pieces of square later, Hailey simply glued them together with ‘Gorilla’ tape on the back side of the rug.

Hailey’s checkered rug dupe. Image Credit: @haileycearbaugh​

To finish it off, she flipped the rug over and ran it through with a vacuum to pick up any stray fabric that had loosened up from the cutting process.

Opting for a sturdy tape eliminated the need for any sewing, making the overall project less intimidating. However, Hailey admitted that it was still quite time-consuming to make.

"I had my boyfriend's help and it took four hours with him, but it was cheaper than buying a $500 [rug]," she shared in the comments section of her TikTok video.

But with hard work comes great results, and to say that Hailey’s rug looked stunning when it was finished is an understatement.

Her clip won the hearts of countless fellow DIY fans, flocking to the comments to express their amazement.

“Ok. That came out AMAZING! I may need to try this someday.” wrote one person.

“I had my doubts but wow.” said another.

She used tape to stick the squares together. Image Credit: @haileycearbaugh​

A third gushed: “At first I was like hell no, but the finished product was *chefs kiss*.”

“I just saw this beautiful rug and it cost $1150… I was feeling uninspired to make it until I saw this!” added another.

“Okay, you've convinced me... I have GOT to make one now!” commented one more.

A few viewers brought up their concerns about the project, with several keen to know if the rug looks just as good after a few weeks, given that it is only held together with tape.

"Can we get an update after a month to see how it’s holding up? Girls gotta know. I vacuum a lot and I would hate it getting ripped up after all the effort," a woman asked.

"Isn't this going to continue to fray and shred where it's cut though?" another chimed.

While Hailey hasn't experienced any shedding so far she agreed to update her followers after a month and show how the rug is looking.

If you want to give this project a shot but are worried about shedding, a couple of Hailey’s followers recommended using glue and sticky tape to help keep it in place for longer. Others also suggested adding a liner beneath the rug.

So if you’ve got the time, then definitely give this idea a shot and let us know how it turns out! What are your thoughts on Hailey’s checkered rug? Share them with us in the comments!

Watch the full TikTok video below:

Video Credit: @haileycearbaugh​

 

[Ricci]

I like to make rugs using wool and a latch hook. They take ages to make but as I only use 100% wool they will outlast me, in fact one I made some 40 odd years ago has recently gone to my sons to live and it still looks as good as the day I finished it. I have one on the go at the moment, recently started so not much to be seen at the moment but when finished will be 6' long by 3' wide.