• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Cooking
  • Crafts
  • Reviews

Engineer Does Crafts logo

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Us
  • Craft Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Cooking
  • Crafts
  • Reviews
search icon
Homepage link
  • Cooking
  • Crafts
  • Reviews
×

Home » Crafts » Budget Bench Makeovers: DIY Picnic Bench Upcycle

Budget Bench Makeovers: DIY Picnic Bench Upcycle

Budget Bench Makeovers: DIY Picnic Bench Upcycle

Spruce up your aging garden picnic bench with this budget friendly picnic bench upcycling idea.

If you have a young family, it is highly likely your garden has faced neglect over those first few years. I vaguely remember the days when we had short lawns, borders, and trees that didn’t eclipse the sun entirely from view (well, that’s what Facebook memories tells me anyway). It’s only now we have found the energy to start tackling it again, as we are now emerging from what we have named “the baby cave” phase. Aside from tackling the jungle, I want to make the best of what we already have, so this picnic bench upcycle idea really appealed to me.

Not only do kids take a toll on your energy, they also take a large hit to your wallet. We want to get the garden into a nice enough condition for them to run around in but have a budget of next to nothing. That said, I’m a quirky gal, I want my home and garden to have unique touches. So when I saw that our picnic bench was looking worse for wear, I was excited to dive in and not only prolong it’s life, but make it look snazzier too.

The bench in need of love

Picnic Bench in need of an upcycle

As you can see, our bench has faced the brunt of the elements from the last few years. Mucky, mossy and in need of some TLC. Although a coat of traditional stain would preserve it and keep it useable, I wanted to try something different. So, off to Wilko we popped.

Picnic Bench Surface with mould

I knew I wanted more than one colour for this bench upcycle, so the cheapest way to do this was to pick a selection of tester pots. Whilst I was there, I also picked up some metal paints for a future project, and some blank homeware items to trial out with my Cricut machine (post on that coming soon!). Also, some new paint brushes, because for some reason paint brushes just disappear into the garage after each decorating job, never to be seen again. All in, the tester pots came to £6, which is a really cheap price point to upcycle a piece of furniture.

Bench Upcycle Step 1: Sanding

For the paint to adhere as smoothly and sustainably as possible, the surface it is applied to needs to be as clean as possible. Whilst not an exciting first step, it’s important to sand down all the gunk and junk from the wood top before applying any paints.

Picnic Bench Upcycle - Mid Sanding
You can see the difference between the 2 sanded planks and the 2 unsanded
Sanded Bench Top
All ready for painting

Bench Upcycle Step 2: Painting

Bench with painting supplies

The fun part next: painting. I decided to buy 6 tester pots of colour, as there were 6 boards on the top of the bench. This turned out to be the perfect amount of paint to do all surfaces of the bench. In total it probably took about 3-4 hours to paint everything, although I spaced the painting out over a few afternoons. The sun was so warm during these sessions the paint dried almost instantly, making it easy to make progress. I only opted for one coat, as I like the slightly rustic look of the wood grain coming through as it weathers.

Painted Bench Top in green, blue, purple and black

Tip: Keep a wet cloth with you. That way if you slip and put splodges of colour in the wrong place you can correct it before it’s had a chance to stain.

Painting completed on bench upcycle

Bench Upcycle Step 3: A Touch of Gold

Gold flecks of paint added to the bench upcycle project
Bench Upcycle finished, picnic bench with blue, green, purple and black planks, with a gold finish on the woodgrain

I had some gold paint (for metal and wood) in the garage from another project and decided to apply some very thin streaks of it to the painted bench; just enough to pick out some of the grain. It really adds a lovely touch of sparkle in the sunshine but isn’t too overbearing on the eye.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MamaMakesDo (@mamamakesdo) on May 14, 2019 at 1:30pm PDT

I had so much fun doing this bench upcycle project. What upcycling projects are you currently working on in the garden? Let us know in the comments below.

« Pineapple Corer: Gadget Review
Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kim Carberry says

    May 16, 2019 at 6:32 pm

    That looks really good. It's amazing what a lick of paint can do x

    Reply
    • Charlotte Cook says

      May 17, 2019 at 10:20 am

      Thank you. I had lots of fun doing this, looking at what else in the garden I can spruce up now haha

      Reply
  2. Emma Reed says

    May 17, 2019 at 6:38 pm

    Oh that's so clever with the gold, I love it!

    Reply
  3. Marie says

    May 17, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    That looks so cute! Love the idea of using different tester pots too!

    Reply
  4. Josie - Me, Them and the Others says

    May 17, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    This looks great, might do something similar with a little wooden garden chair we have.

    Reply
  5. Rachel Bustin says

    May 17, 2019 at 8:06 pm

    I love the colours you have chosen. A great project!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

About me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter

MamaMakesDo.com was founded in 2016 by Charlotte Cook, a Mother and qualified Mechanical Engineer with a passion for money saving and cooking. When not running her blog, Charlotte can be found engaging in photography, baking something tasty in the kitchen and learning a new crafty hobby (current challenge: learning to knit). She is also an avid gamer, spending her (fleeting) free time catching up with the latest releases and building up her retro collection. Check out my About Us Page.

  • Dry a Flower for Resin Casting
  • Screen Free Audio Books - Yoto Player Review
  • Choosing Flooring for Your Craft Room
  • Cricut Bullet Journal Cover
  • How to Make a Window Rainbow - Craft with the Kids

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.