Whimsical Garden Bench

LeeAnn M
by LeeAnn M
I found this old, sad, tired-looking, bench and knew I could turn it into something wonderful. With elbow grease and sandpaper, this bench was ready for a new coat of black paint. I used over 10 different colors of paint to transform this bench into a colorful, whimsical garden bench! Since I used items I already had at home, this project cost me $0. This bench was fairly easy to complete. It just takes patience to wait for the paint to dry so you can move on to the next step. :)
Fresh from the farm! I sanded down all the rust, globs of paint, and sticker residue.
This photo is after sanding and one coat of Rust-Oleum exterior, glossy, spray paint. I eventually gave this bench 3 light coats of paint.
I traced a star on the bench. Then, using painter's tape, I taped off random sections for the white stripes and also taped off sections on the side and back rails. I painted and filled in the various sections of colors using indoor/outdoor craft paint and my artist paint brushes. Some colors took four coats of paint to cover the black.
The bench was still missing something, so I used a Q-tip to add the dots of paint on the legs and bottom cross bar. To protect the paint, I gave it 3 light coats of clear, acrylic spray paint. Can't wait to see this colorful, whimsical bench in my garden next spring!!!
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  • Katie Katie on Oct 13, 2018

    Frankly, this bench is too wonderful not to be in the house!! Love it.

  • Cassaundra Cassaundra on Jun 18, 2022

    I love this!!! Looks similar to my style except you are so much more refined and know when to stop. I keep adding “one more” thing. Beautiful work. Thank you for sharing.

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