Fluff the Nest Friday: Patio Paint Project

Around here, Friday is the day to “fluff the nest”, which is just a much cuter way of saying “clean the house”. Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday.

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Happy Friday, friends! I have a lot to catch up on inside the house today because lately I’ve put more of my time into whipping the patio and yard into shape. So, I’m just going to share with you one of the projects we’ve accomplished outside, before I get back to my usual Friday fluffing routine inside the house.

Our patio table and chairs (above) had seen better days. We got this set from Target fifteen years ago (I was pregnant with Country Girl, as a matter of fact!), and are trying to make it last at least one more year. It had become old, rickety, faded, and full of chew marks from the dogs. In the same way that babies teeth on a coffee table, all of our puppies have teethed on this patio table.

At first, I was planning to restain it. But then I got to thinking that if we were only going to have it another year or two, and it’s already old, why not do something fun with the color?!

The cushions on our lounge chairs are blue, and we’ve really enjoyed that pop of color on our otherwise very brown patio, so I decided to carry the blue over into the table area. The paint color is called Northern Pike by Sherwin Williams. It’s actually a darker than it looks here in these photos.

My oldest daughter was looking for a project to do around the house during some down time this summer, so I invited her to help me paint the patio furniture, to which she eagerly accepted. I told her this would be a good skill to learn for having her own home one day when she will be picking up flee market finds to save money on new furniture. She was a huge help with this project!

I first tightened up the screws in the furniture, then sanded it and rubbed it with steel wool. After hosing it off and letting it dry in the sun for a while, we got to work painting.

We could have easily had this completed in two days, but, unfortunately, not too far into the project, Incredi-Boy ran across the patio, knocking over the entire gallon of paint!! My goodness, what a mess! I wish I had a photo to show you, but there was NO time to take one. As soon as the paint was knocked over, Joel and I went to work, fast and furious, to get the paint up before it started to dry. There is still a large, but very faint, splotch on the patio. The project that was supposed to save me money cost me another can of paint and a few extra days to get the job done. But, it would have been much worse if the paint had not come off the concrete so I’m thankful for that!

Our patio has been a wreck lately with this paint project and our crazy dogs and just the many activities of summer. I cleaned it up the other day so we could see how pretty it would look with our “new” furniture. We loved it! But as soon as we admired it and snapped a few photos, all the cushions and pillows had to be put away again since the dogs are bent on destroying them. Oh well, it was pretty while it lasted, and at least the table is still a fun color!

Now, time to get the inside in shape for the weekend. We’re having company tonight for a special occasion and that is serving as my motivation for today’s cleaning! I’ll fill you in next week!