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Saving my outdoor furniture

Whew we had a busy weekend! It was finally warm (hallelujah!) in Michigan which meant it was time to tackle some outdoor projects. First on the list was our outdoor furniture. We got this all from World Market about 3 years ago and when we bought it we were told we needed to seal it. Sure no problem I got this, or so I thought. We sealed them perfectly…on top. Never thought to seal the bottoms. So that left room for the moisture to get in, which caused all the polyurethane to bubble up once it sat in the hot sun all summer long. Sigh.

You can see their original color in my DIY fire pit table top post…

DIY Fire Pit Table Top

but you can’t tell how peely and awful the finish was in that photo, they were kind of painful to sit on.

We decided to try to power wash them to get some of the bubbles off….and someone, who will remain nameless but let’s just say it wasn’t me, and I don’t typically let my kids handle a power washer, soooo I’ll let you count the people in our family and see who is left…

got a little over zealous with the power washer and took a bit more than the peeling bubbles off.

Which left us with this hot mess. (sorry bad cell phone pic, but it was the only evidence I captured)

A wooden bench

Ok don’t panic, we can still save them!

Painted Adirondack chairs and fire pit

After a zillion hours of sanding I hit up the hardware store and bought a paint sprayer, I used a Home Right paint sprayer (not an ad or sponsored post just telling you what I used and it worked like a charm!). And I’m now the proud owner of beautiful white adirondack chairs. It was kind of a happy accident, because I actually love how fresh and clean they feel now.

Painted Adirondack chairs and fire pit

Our dining set got a fresh coat of paint too.

Painting Patio Furniture

Oh and my trash can flower planters are back for another year.

Potting Bench and Trash Can Planters

I also tackled all the flower boxes too, they aren’t much to look at at the moment but give them a few weeks to fill out…

Flowers planted in a window box

and cross your fingers I keep them all alive :)

Painted Adirondack chairs and fire pit

I’ll show you some updated backyard photos in a few weeks once everything really gets blooming. Hope you are all enjoying some sunshine in your neck of the woods too!

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31 Comments

  1. My husband and I are admiring your fire pit. I found your directions for the fire pit table top but not the actual fire pit. Am I missing the directions?

    1. Hi Teresa I didn’t make the actual fire pit it was one of those kits you can buy from a Home Improvement store. This post is about 5 years old so I’m not sure which one it is sorry!

  2. Hi Kelly! Love your blog – we are in Michigan too! Got the garden in and shed painted up next is kids picnic table, adult picnic table, and our adirondack chairs – all going white of course. I had used white barn paint previously but it did not weather to well. I was really wondering what you used for the white paint and if you had to seal it? Thanks so much and love your blog!

    1. Hey Rhonda!

      So I used a high quality outdoor house paint that is mildew and bubble resistant. I did two coats and I didn’t put an extra sealer on, we’ll have to see how they fair at the end of the summer, but that’s what the paint guys at Ace recommended to me :) Hope you are enjoying all this gorgeous weather we are finally having!

  3. Kelly you should see my planter boxes right now! Everything I planted is totally dead! I need to start over. And then introduce myself to a watering can. :) Your painted furniture looks perfect!

  4. Just gorgeous and I think the white works great with your backdrop. The flowers in the center are gorgeous.

    Cynthia

  5. Your flowers look amazing! I just love those window boxes so much and the patio furniture looks GREAT in WHITE! Love it!

  6. You’ve inspired me. I just ordered that paint sprayer and we’ll be spending the holiday weekend painting our outdoor dinning set and our nightstands. I hope it works out as good for me as it did for you. Looks great!

    1. Just a quick update… I bought the paint sprayer and I used it this weekend on my own patio set. I LOVED it! It took less than two hours (including set up and clean up) to paint my picnic table and two benches. It would have taken at least 3 times longer to paint with a brush. The paint sprayer worked like a champ.

  7. Hilarious (to me!) snafus + great end results = winning. Seriously, I love the all white! I assume you sealed them after painting, but what product did you use? I have some very sad deck chairs that need some new paint, and I want to make sure it doesn’t just get chipped off immediately.

    1. I didn’t seal them, I hope they hold up! The guy at Ace recommended a high quality outdoor trim paint so I’m crossing my fingers!

  8. Looks great! Also spending some time outdoors in the sunshine here too. Lots of painting to do after lots of rain! I like the idea of the paint spray gun but the last time hubby tried it, the paint carried in the air and fell on our neighbour’s new yellow mini

  9. Uh Huh!! You just “happened” to forget to seal the underside of the furniture. You just wanted a new home paint sprayer and to paint your chairs the way you wanted. It was your subconscious working — pretty clever if you ask me. And the person , who shall remain nameless, with the power wash just “helped” the cause along. Shhh – don’t tell anyone, but I would have done the same thing. Everything looks great!!!!

  10. You’ve done a great painting job. I’ve been thinking of getting a sprayer. Where/how do you spray paint as not to get everything full of paint?

    1. Hey Carol I did it in my garage and there is kind of paint everywhere, but if I would have been sensible and used a drop cloth it would have been ok ha :)

  11. I love the looks of your outdoor furniture painted white. It really brightens things up on your patio plus goes well with the white trim on your house. Gives a nice, clean fresh look. Great job.
    Like your window boxes as well as your trash can planters

  12. I have the same dining set! Mine is just a year old, but I should have put teak oil on it before this year. It’s not perfect, but it should last a while. If it starts looking too shabby painting it is a good option. I love the way the white looks!

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