Before And After: An Upcycled Outdoor Seating Area

An Outdoor Seating Area Repurposed, Recycled and Redesigned

Now that the warm weather is here in Eastern, NC I have been trying to get some yard work done before it actually gets HOT out. Updating my back patio is top on my To-Do list this Spring. It is still a work in progress and promise to share the final outcome when it is complete but today I wanted to share a part of the project that is complete and was a lot of fun to do. This little outdoor seating area is nestled in the corner of my patio and is a great place to sit with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Upcycling Outdoor Patio Chairs…. Again.

You may remember my post from last year that featured a small upcycled Bistro set that was created from redesigned thrift store patio chairs and table. Each piece got a new paint job and the seat cushions were recovered with new fabric. Cute, right?

Thrift Store Outdoor Chair Makeover

Well, needless to say the paint on the chairs has chipped a little over the past year which is TOTALLY fine with me but the fabric on the seats  got faded and stained. Yuck!

Outdoor Chair Makeover Before

Honestly I never really actually sat in the chairs to enjoy them much so I ditched the table and decided to redo the chairs once again. Instead of pulling off the old fabric and recovering the seats with new, I decided to go ahead and PAINT the seat cushions. That’s right. PAINT! I pulled off each seat cushion and cleaned them really good with bleach, soap and water.

Old faded fabric chair seat cushion

Once dry I gave each seat cushion a couple of coats of Glidden High Endurance Exterior Paint in a crisp, clean white. I was a little curious how they would feel after the paint dried. I was pleasantly surprised that the paint went on smoothly and the seats feel almost like a soft vinyl now, not stiff and scratchy.

Painted Fabric Seat Cushions

When the white paint was completely dry I gave the seats a little more personality by stenciling a design using a few small stencils and outdoor craft paint in a fresh turquoise blue.

Stenciling Fabric Seat Cushions With Paint

Please excuse the mess in the background!

Painted and Stenciled Fabric Seat Cushions For A Outdoor Chairs

Here are the chairs all finished. Now for the next part. You are gonna love this!

Outdoor Chairs With Painted and Stenciled Fabric Seat Cushions

An Upcycled Vintage Milk Can

My husband got this vintage milk can for me from a friend over 20 years ago. I painted it and it sat in my kitchen for a few years, was moved to the front porch and then found itself in storage for quite awhile. The paint had almost completely chipped off and it was a pitiful sight….

Vintage Metal Milk Can

Inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest I brought the old milk can back home. I cleaned it up really well and gave it a few coats of a bright Turquoise paint. I used a rust proof spray paint by Rustoleum this time. Once it was dry I added a clear glass table top to the top of the milk can. To keep the glass in place I simply attached little rubber stoppers to the top of the milk can found at my local hardware store.

A Repurposed Milk Can Side Table

An Upcycled Outdoor Seating Area

Now this adorable upcycled outdoor seating area is displayed in the corner of my patio and I am determined to use it to sit and enjoy a bit of R&R while appreciating a bit of nature in my back yard. I am so busy most of the time that I am going to have to make myself stop and smell the roses from time to time.

An Upcycled Outdoor Seating Area

So that’s one part of my patio makeover that is finished. I hope to share the rest very soon. I sort of had to put the brakes on this project for a few weeks as we began installing new vinyl plank flooring throughout our entire first floor. But that is another story and post altogether!

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Happy Decorating!

~Lisa

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