I NEED YOUR OPINIONS! We have had this cute park bench sitting on the front porch of The Mad House, but it needs some love. Years of exposure to Michigan’s four seasons have all but stripped it of its polyurethane finish and even of some of its stain. The wrought iron supports are starting to show signs of wear too.
I have already taken it apart and given the wood a good sanding with my new orbital sander, but I can’t decide what to do with it from here. That’s where you come in. Here are the options I am considering.
The simplest and most classic option would be to re-stain and poly the wood and spray paint the metal accents. The upside of this option is that I have stain, poly, and ORB spray paint on hand already; the downside is that it would continue to look the way it always has. Not very exciting.
penny stain recipe, penny stained letters, steel wool tea stain and table project
I am also really interested in trying out a homemade wood stain, and this could be a really cool project on which to try one. I would be taking a risk of the experiment failing, and having to start all over after putting in all that work though.
I could go full color with the bench by painting the whole kit and caboodle. This would probably be the easiest option, since I could just spray the whole bench. I would risk really clashing with our house if I went with a a bold color though.
A less risky option would be to add color to either the metal OR the wood, but not both. It would require more supplies and more time, but would result in a more sophisticated, classic look.
As long as I am taking the time to redo the bench, I could go all out and do something wild like rainbow stripes or gradient color. It would mean a lot more work but would give us a real conversation piece.
I trust your opinions, so please sound off in the comments! What do you think I should do with my park bench? Do you have an idea other than the ones I shared above? Let me know!
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Thanks, Jessica
How fun Jessica! I really like the bench that has the metal painted a nice green with natural wood. I would prefer the wood to be a little darker and compliment the bricks more. Maybe a nice brownish red, some thing rich but sutle.
I like the first option! Keep it classic. You can’t go wrong with complimenting the metal with a gorgeous wood stain.
I have the exact bench in the same condition (4 Indiana winters)and I can’t decide what colors to use lol. I don’t want to stain it, and I am really liking the brighter colors….?