3 Outdoor Furniture Flips

If you're decorating an outdoor space on a budget, you don’t have to spend a fortune on brand-new furniture. See how we revived three thrifted pieces with a little elbow grease and creativity.

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By: Samantha Pattillo

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These three outdoor furniture pieces had seen better days before we got our hands on them. See the before-and-after photos and get step-by-step instructions for the projects.

From: Samantha Pattillo

Wooden Chaise Longue: Before

Bringing wood furniture back to life after a year or two outdoors can seem daunting, but it’s actually very easy and oh-so-satisfying when you’re done. This wooden chaise was sun-bleached and a bit grimy after laying out under the sun and rain, but overall it was still in great structural shape.

From: Samantha Pattillo

Wooden Chaise Longue: The Makeover

A good cleaning, sanding and staining will work wonders on a tired piece of wood furniture. But if you want to take your makeover up a notch, consider adding a fun, tropical-inspired design like we did here. Oil-based paint pens make it super easy to add intricate details. Get step-by-step instructions for this project >>

From: Samantha Pattillo

Wooden Chaise Longue: After

This tropical-inspired lounge chair is now the perfect place to relax poolside. Add a few toss pillows and a great magazine and get your chill on. Get step-by-step instructions for this project >>

Metal Bar Cart: Before

Vintage and antique items, like this midcentury modern bar cart, can be great alternatives to buying new. They offer one-of-a-kind style and are often more affordable, but sometimes they need a little TLC.

From: Samantha Pattillo

Metal Bar Cart: The Makeover

You can follow the same steps to clean up any outdoor item made of wrought iron. If the piece is rusty, you’ll want to tackle that first with trisodium phosphate (or TSP) and a wire brush. Luckily, this bar cart didn’t have any rust spots, so we skipped straight to sanding and spray painting. Apply multiple light coats of paint (rather than one or two heavy coats) for a smooth finish. Get step-by-step instructions for this project >>

From: Samantha Pattillo

Metal Bar Cart: After

After a little elbow grease and a fresh coat of paint, this bar cart looks as good as new. We stored extra glasses and mixers on the bottom shelf and designated the top for drink prep and snacks. Now let’s party! Get step-by-step instructions for this project >>

From: Samantha Pattillo

Rattan Peacock Chair: Before

Intricately hand woven out of rattan, peacock chairs made their way from England in the 19th century and took their place in gardens across the US. Now, they’re coming back in a big way as part of the new boho style trend. This miniature peacock chair just needed a little love and a punch of color to get back on the style bandwagon.

From: Samantha Pattillo

Rattan Peacock Chair: The Makeover

After a thorough cleaning, we gave this chair a fun ombre paint treatment using a chip brush to really get into the crevasses. Next, we wrapped the outer frame with bright teal ribbon. This allowed us to cover the existing black wrapping that was cracked and fading. Get step-by-step instructions for this project >>

From: Samantha Pattillo

Rattan Peacock Chair: After

Bring the whole look together with a fun toss pillow that pulls in the colors of the paint, ribbon and (in this case) the front door. Rattan, while great for outdoor use, needs to be taken care of. Keeping it under a covered porch or entry (as seen here) is a great way to protect it from hard rain and sun. Get step-by-step instructions for this project >>

From: Samantha Pattillo