How to Decorate and Old Bench to Look New

Adding a new finish to an old bench can be a lot of fun. It will take time of course, but in the end it will be well worth the effort. First you will need to gather the following materials together; an old unfinished bench, primer, paint in two contrasting colors, clear varnish, sandpaper, tack cloth, and a few paintbrushes. First you need to sand down the entire bench to remove any old paint that may still be on there. After you finish sanding you can then wipe it down with the tack cloth. Next you can begin applying the primer. Make sure that you cover the entire bench, and allow about twenty minutes for the primer to completely dry.

You may want to add a second coat of primer, but this is only if you feel it is necessary. Now you can begin painting your bench in the color’s you have chosen. To give it a nice unique touch you can paint the legs and back of the bench one color and paint the seat a different color. When painting a bench you want to make sure that you follow the grain of the wood. Never paint against the grain it will make your paint job look a little on the messy side.

After you have painted the entire bench and it has completely dried you can then seal it with the varnish. In order to add you own special additional touch you can try using a stencil to put a special design on the seat. Another idea is to add a little cushion to your old bench. You can make your own cushion or you can buy one from the store. If you want to make a cushion yourself it is really very simple. You just get some fabric, (make sure you measure the bench first so you will know how much you need), and sew up the edges, leaving an opening to add the cotton.

Then you add the cotton and finish sewing up the hole in the cushion. Make sure you add a border to the cushion right along the edge to give it a finished look. You will also want to add some strings to your bench cushion, so hat you can tie it onto the bench. You would not want it to fall off every time someone decided to get up. One last suggestion for those who do not like to paint with paint brushes, you could just spray paint the bench. You can do it all in one color or you can do it in two. Just make sure that you are in a well ventilated area, and you wear gloves and a face mask when using spray paint.