A green thumb is not required for these upcycling garden ideas. Get some tips on making those fading pieces of yard furniture look great again.
Upcycling garden furniture means taking an old item and creatively refinishing it in a style of your choice. This can be done with all types of furniture, but we’ll demonstrate the process here with a small garden bench.
Maybe you already have an old small garden bench which could use a fresh look. Otherwise look through your workshop, basement, or garage for a child’s size wooden bench. Or visit some garage sales as these benches are pretty common. It may have already been painted over and scuffed up from wear and tear, but that's okay, because you will be completely sanding it down to bare wood.
It doesn't have to be a big bench because it won't be used for sitting. This is going to house flower pots or decorative garden statues.
Lastly, this bench is going to be decorated with found objects, so look for odds and ends like old cupboard handles, coins, plastic ornaments or old silverware.
Once you have your bench and decorative materials handy, you can begin. Follow these steps:
- Assess how much stripping or sanding will be required to get the bench down to bare wood.
- Choose to do it manually with a coarse sandpaper and electric sander or with an application of liquid stripper.
- In either case, once you have removed the old paint you will want to sand it down further with a finer grade of sandpaper in preparation for painting.
- Prime the wood with a good exterior primer.
- Apply a colorful outdoor paint and let dry thoroughly.
- Once dry, start gluing your decorative pieces to the bench. Use your imagination or look for ideas in craft books or on the internet.
- Glue to both flat and vertical surfaces if you like.
- Once you are satisfied with your new upcycled bench, add flower pots or garden gnomes to finish.
As you can see, it’s pretty straight forward. The key is to get creative with the decorating. Look through craft books, furniture refinishing magazines, or websites featuring refinished furniture for ideas.
Of course, there are many other things you can refinish and redecorate as well. The process is similar, so just use the above as guidelines. You can upcycle pallets for the garden, or small things like flower pots or birdhouses. And everyone loves an upcycled garden table.
Whatever you are upcycling in the garden, you will need the right adhesive to attach decorative items to the furniture.
Loctite Stik'n Seal Outdoor Adhesive is a great choice for many such projects. It’s a versatile high-performance adhesive sealant formulated to stick to a wide variety of materials. It’s easy to use because it won’t run or drip and it forms a tight, weatherproof seal.
Another great choice is Loctite Go2 Gel. It contains the revolutionary Flextec formulation that bonds multi-materials when projects require tremendous bond strength plus resistance to flexing, vibration, and extreme conditions. It can be used indoors and outdoors, has excellent adhesion, and cures quickly. It is also resistant to moisture and UV rays so it will hold up well in the garden. Always check the product information on the packaging to make sure you got the right glue for your DIY project.