June Monthly Challenge: Outdoor Storage Bench Revamp

A few years ago I snagged a super deal on an outdoor storage bench.  I loved the idea of having a place to toss throw pillows during a storm and for the kids to stash some of their most frequently used outdoor toys.  The bench was made from a durable outdoor plastic, and was a neutral mix of brown/beige.

At the time, I figured for the price and function, I could see past the fact that the beige didn't work well with all of our grays and whites.  But after living with it for a couple of years now, it just comes across as dirty looking to me...

I am all about cleaning up all of our outdoor spaces, to give them new life and color this year.  Treating them just like I would a room inside the house, means trying to work with what I have, and maybe adding a few new pieces to finish things off.

We talked about building a nice wooden storage box, but feared that with our harsh seasons, that may cause more maintenance than we are willing to deal with.  We thought about selling the bench and putting the funds to something we liked better.  But I really didn't find anything that I liked any better, when it came to size and function.  So, the last option was to keep it, and just give it a quicky update.  This was the least expensive and most practical choice, so we went with it!

I started out by removing the bench lid, spraying it down with the hose and propping the entire thing up off of the ground on a giant box.

I then used a microfiber rag to dry the entire bench, and let it sit in the sun {yes, we had sun on Saturday!} for about an hour.

Because my plan was to spray the bench white, and it is going to be outdoors for years to come, I started by using a spray paint with built in primer.

Following the instructions on the can, I gave the bench nice thin coats...

One coat:

Two coats:

The paint/primer spray was working pretty well, but seemed a little thicker and left a couple of speckles here and there.  I wanted a nice smooth satin finish, so for the final four coats, I used the regular, non primer spray.

The paint is meant for indoor/outdoor use and for plastic, and it went on oh so nicely.  No dripping and great coverage.  However, I did go through a total of five freakin' cans for this entire project!  Wowzers!  Oh, and the spray nozzle trigger is a serious hand saver.  Love that thing!

Here she is in all her spray painted glory!

I decided to leave the bench lid the chocolate brown, since my plans for the patio area involve a ton of color, and I knew I could dress it up with vibrant pillows.

An up close view of all of the coverage:

The paint will most likely take a small while to cure, but considering that the most used part is the seat which didn't get painted, I think all should work out in the end.  It even rained last night and I wiped it down with a soft rag and all looks shiny and new!  The bright white really made a dramatic difference to the backyard already, which makes me giddy with excitement to keep going with everything else I have up my sleeves.

Oh!  And the inside is just as fab as the out.  At least this organizing loving gal thinks so!

I didn't bother to paint the inside because with all of the toys going in and out, I didn't want for it to get dinged up.  The sandbox toys are in a basket that can easily be toted to the sandbox.  We don't like to leave the toys in the sandbox, because our doggies don't know the difference between their toys, and kid's toys.  What is hard to see here, is that even with all of the toys, there is still plenty of space for me to toss pillows in on top, should a wind storm come along. 

So although function stayed the same, a little spray paint gave it a whole new look!   And because we splurged on decking for our outdoor makeover, many of the rest of the updates will be done with paint since it makes the most impact on a budget.  And as I mentioned, color is on the way!

Although it did end up raining most of Sunday, we got a good start on quite a few projects.  How about you?  Did any of you take advantage of good weather and do a thing or two around the yard?  Anyone else a fan of spray painting outdoor furniture?  How has it held up?