Tips on restoring and updating weathered outdoor furniture and decor.
Patio furniture and decor can be really expensive, so I'm always looking for ways to update or restore them and bring back some of the original finish.
The elements do a number on everything outside — from fading in the sunlight to yucky grime from the elements, there are many simple ways to make them look (closer to) new again!
We're hosting a special event on our back patio in a few weeks, so we've been working on getting everything set up for the season. I've also been tackling some small projects out there to get things in ready for the party.
I had a list of drab looking outdoor items I wanted to clean and update. The first project was revitalizing our weathered cedar potting bench.
My Dad helped me build this DIY potting bench ten years ago and I absolutely cherish it! I'm thankful we spent more on cedar when we built it — other than refinishing it a couple times now, it's held up beautifully.
Years ago I sanded and treated the cedar and it looked amazing!:
But after six years of direct sun and the elements, the cedar started to gray again. This is normal for this type of wood, especially when it's exposed like it was.
Last time I refinished this potting bench it was in much worse shape — I had to sand like crazy to get all of the mildew off. This time I tried something new and I was shocked at how well it worked:
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You can see how much cleaner the left side is after this easy treatment. (The gray all the way over on the right is how it looked before.)
All I did was add a few scoops of Oxiclean powder (and water) to a spray bottle and then sprayed it onto the wood. I let it sit for a few minutes and then used the hose to reveal the pretty wood finish:
