Justin and I got this outdoor wood furniture set as a hand me down about a year ago, just in time for Mason’s 3rd birthday party. It has been my idea ever since we got it to refinish it and give it a new life. All I could do before his party last year was order new seat cushions (arm chair cushions, loveseat cushion) which was a major update in and of itself but was supposed to just be a quick fix and not the final product.
I finally got around to tackling this project this past weekend. It ended up taking me 3 days to complete. I am so excited to share with you the before and afters. This was a huge transformation, don’t you think?!! But really, I am most excited to share with you how to refinish old outdoor wood furniture so that you can use these steps to fix up your own old wooden outdoor furniture.
Supplies you will need to recreate:
Power washer
Electric hand sander
Sanding pads for sander (we had 320 grit paper in our shed already so that’s what I used)
Outdoor Wood Stain (I used a mix of Special Walnut and Natural stain)
Old rag
Latex gloves
Construction paper (use this to create your leaf shapes)
Outdoor paint (I used color Dark Pewter for the arm chairs, love seat and coffee table legs and color Trailing Vine for the palm leave on the coffee table top)
Small paint brush
Water-based paint pens (I selected a few different colors from this set)
Water-based outdoor sealant (I used a spray can for easy and quick application)
I got inspired by a post on HGTV transforming a pool lounger and giving it a tropical vibe. I already had palm leaf seat cushions for our outdoor dining table chairs so as soon as I saw this DIY I knew I needed to incorporate a similar design into the coffee table. The idea for painting the lounge chairs grey came from a photo I found while doing a google search for refinishing outdoor furniture. I was so unsure before I really started searching online what direction I wanted to go with these furniture pieces. But it kind of all fell into place and I had my design idea quickly after I saw these two images.
Step by step guide to refinishing old wood outdoor furniture:
1. Power wash your outdoor wood furniture making sure to get all sides. I let them dry for over 24 hours in direct sunlight.
2. Sand down the wood for a smooth finish and to remove any previous wood stain or finish.
3. Use an old rag and apply wood stain on the top of your table or anywhere else you are wanting to have wood stain finish. I decided to also stain the top of arms of the lounge chairs and love seat as well as the love seat back rest.
4. Use outdoor paint to paint any area you are wanting to have a painted finish. I decided to paint the legs of the coffee table as well as both lounge chairs and seat and side of the love seat a nice medium grey. Let them dry overnight.
5. Cut out the design for your palm leaves. I just did them freehand, but you can easily print out pictures of palm leaves and then cut around them. You will use these as your stencils.
6. Take a white water-based paint pen and outline the palm leaves on the top of your table and back of your loveseat.
7. Using a small paint brush, paint in the leaves with a green oil based/outdoor paint of your choice. Let dry completely.
8. Go back in with your water-based paint pens to draw in the details.
9. Use a water based sealant over your table top and loveseat back to protect your palm leaf print detail.
10. After everything is completely dry put your seat cushions back on, kick back, and enjoy your new refinished outdoor furniture.
I hope you found this step by step guide helpful for your next project! And as always, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!
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