DIY Ideas for Painting Patio Chairs

Patio furniture can be quite expensive, unless you opt for basic and plain pieces. However, plain metal chairs and brown flower pots don’t exactly scream “magical garden getaway”. Luckily, with a few easy DIY tricks, you can give your patio furniture a complete makeover. If you are looking for an easy and quick do-it-yourself fix, painting patio chairs is a great place to start.

Last year I painted four metal folding chairs and a plastic table. This year I wanted to change the color scheme of my patio, so I decided to repaint the seat and the back of my patio chairs. Pastel colors work quite well for patio furniture, giving it a softer look. So I went all in with the pastels. I painted the chairs to match my painted DIY flower pots, using leftover paint.

Before you start this DIY painting project, make sure you have a well-ventilated work space (ideally outdoors). Cover the floor with plastic bags, newspapers, or a tarp – whatever you have handy. Use gloves to protect your skin from the paint. To paint the patio chairs, use 1″ painting brush, 4 basic colors of paint, and a thin flat brush (e.g., a brush for drawing pictures):

Mix and match the 4 colors to get a variety of beautiful hues. Tin foil cupcake pans are a great substitute for a mixing palette. To scoop the paint out of the container and onto the cupcake pan, you can use plastic spoons (one for each color).

If you can’t draw, stick to abstract and geometrical shapes. Use the 1″ painting brush to draw lines, curves, circles, and rectangles. The idea here is to have attractive colors paired with a simple pattern. This will help even the least talented painter out there get better results. After your pattern is complete, let the paint dry.

To finish the patio chairs painting decoration, outline the seat, the back, and all the different shapes and colors with black paint. I have used this outlining trick for a variety of painting projects, including drawing pictures for decoration and painting DIY flower pots. It works like a charm! Once your paint is dry, use the thin flat brush (e.g., a flat brush you use to draw pictures at home) to outline the different hues. The smaller the brush, the more precise outline you’ll get. Also, outline the seat and the back of the chair with black paint to frame the painted pattern. Once the black outline is dry, you can apply a second coat of black paint for a more intense color.

Below you can see my patio makeover results. If you like the look and want to paint DIY pots in matching colors, check out this video. Making these painted DIY pots is even easier than painting the chairs.