Summer rolls around eventually, and when it does you’ve gotta be ready! I’ve been planning our retro glam backyard patio for months now, and updating our patio loungers from last summer was high on my list of projects. So without further ado, this is how to update patio furniture with paint (and pillows!)
* BEHR sponsored this post, but all thoughts are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make PMQ for two possible.
We also updated our DIY Potting Bench with a fresh coat of paint, and while we’re at it, I thought I’d share some of last year’s projects where paint made everything better, including some where we didn’t use BEHR, but could and should have.
Check out my painting tips including prep, paint selection and technique.
Prepping Your Patio Furniture to Paint
By now I’ve written enough about how to actually paint something (a wall, furniture, crafts etc.) including outdoor patio furniture, so I’ll narrow down my prep tips to these:
- Clean your furniture. Remove dirt, cobwebs, and any random stuff that stuck around through the winter. Even if you think it looks fine, give it a good hose and a scrub. The paint won’t adhere properly if your items are covered in dust.
- Depending on the state of your surface, you may need to sand or prime the surface accordingly. Un-sealed painted wood in good condition doesn’t require much prep work, but chipping paint, finished surfaces (with lacquer or other), and non-wood surfaces will require some prep like sanding.
- If you’re painting using a brush or a roller, get some wood blocks or old cans (go fishing through the recycling) to raise the feet off the ground. It’ll make it easier to paint all the way down without also painting your driveway.
- Check the weather to make sure you can actually complete your project in time, or make space in your garage to store the items in between sunny days.
Picking The Right Paint For Outdoor Projects
Much like interior paint, your decision will come down to the type of surface you are painting, the number of coats desired, colour selection and the time you have dedicated to the project. In the spring and summer, it’s a no-brainer, but fall through winter is a little more tricky.
I’ve spoken about this in my guide to painting, but I recommend using BEHR’s outdoor Marquee formula.
One of the reasons I like the marquee exterior, is that it can be applied down to 0c, and will resist rain within 60 mins of application (which is key in North America this summer). Additionally, MQE (Marquee Exterior) has exceptional fade and dirt resistance, which matters when you’re leaving these items outside year round. As you’ll see with some of the other projects I share at the end of the post, we should have just used BEHR from the jump.
Spraying Your Patio Furniture
We recently sprayed our first paint project, and it made everything so much easier. I’m used to rollers and brushes, but when it comes to all the nooks and crannies involved in patio furniture, using a paint sprayer is really the way to go.
Check out how we sprayed out MCM Trellis Panel
Adding New Cushions To Your Patio Furniture
In the case of our chaise lounge, I decided to add a head-rest pillow this year. We had full length cushions on them last year, but they spent most of last summer in the garage (I didn’t want to keep having to put them back for fear of rain or theft – we had a very exposed backyard), so this summer I wanted to keep it simple and fierce.
I bought two bolster pillows and a fun leopard print fabric to sew covers with. Sewing a bolster pillow is harder than it looks, but easier than you’d think. I followed a bolster pillow sewing tutorial on youtube, and somehow made it out alive.
When in doubt though, just sew new covers for your existing cushions. I updated our collection with terri cloth pillow cases that I made using towels and bath sheets. You can see them in our retro glam patio reveal.
Updating Patio Furniture With Paint
The lovely thing about paint, is that it makes it easy to change the colour and #mood of almost anything, with relative ease. When it comes to patio furniture, my vision seems to change each summer, so bringing fresh vibes with paint is something I can safely plan on.
This year we updated our loungers using Behr’s Outdoor Marquee formula in Ultra Pure White.
They were painted in pink with Lady Guinevere from the Marquee Line MQ1-13, but this year I wanted a crisp white. We used Ultra Pure white and our paint sprayer to get the look.
With all the black furniture, and the natural greenery, I wanted a somewhat simplified colour palette, so white was clearly the answer!
Our DIY Potting bench was lovely as natural wood, but we needed to seal it. Unfortunately the items we used to initially paint it white, did not weather the winter well. So this year I gave it a fresh coat of paint using the Ultra Pure White as well.
Other Painted Patio Projects
We’ve painted quite a few things in our time, and here are some other great backyard project ideas for adding colour and dimension to your outdoor living situation.
We painted the large cement pavers under our DIY Harvest table to look like cement tiles. We used a different brand of paint, but Behr’s marquee paints would do the trick just as well.
We also painted the top of our harvest table white a few summers ago (Using a different type of product), and it really transformed the piece. Unfortunately it did yellow a little over two summers, so if we had kept it in the move, we would have repainted it using Outdoor Marquee.
What have you got planned for summer painting projects?
