Cedar Settee Furniture

You’ve already got a design for your patio furniture, but suddenly, a relative – perhaps a close aunt – gifts you with an old rocking chair that she feels is a sacred piece of furniture.  However, this old wooden rocking chair doesn’t match your current design, and to make matters worse, it’s not in great condition.  You’re thinking of painting it to make it fit in because you don’t want to hurt your aunt’s feelings and you can tell it was once a great piece of furniture.  However, you’re concerned that you can’t possibly bring it back to life, even with a coat of paint.  Should you even try to paint it?

First, you have to evaluate the overall condition of this piece of garden furniture.  Is the wood extremely splintered or warped?  Is it sturdy enough to sit in and rock, or is it so delicate that it won’t be more than a showpiece on your patio as opposed to useful furniture?  If it seems as though you will actually be able to use the chair and it is salvageable, you should consider painting it.  There are steps to take first, though, to prepare it for renewal.

It’s important to start by sanding down the chair, removing any splinters and smoothing out some of the potentially warped or scarred wood.  This will make a smooth surface upon which to apply the paint.  If you try to paint a rough surface, you’ll find that the paint peels and splinters easily so that your patio rocking chair will need a new coat of paint within months.  Also, depending on the type of wood from which the chair is constructed, you may need to treat the wood.  Cedar and teak are weather resistant, but oak and other types of wood aren’t.  While paint can provide some sealant against the elements, it is best to treat the wood prior to applying a coat of paint.

Once your wooden patio furniture is ready for the coat of paint, try to carefully match the shade of the current furniture, since being off by a single shade can really clash with the rest of the furniture.  You will most likely have to apply at least two coats of paint and possibly a third to create a smooth finish and consistent color, since a single coat will appear splotchy and thin in some spots.

Hopefully, the wooden rocking chair will be a great addition to your patio décor, assuming you can salvage it and make it fit in.  With care and basic maintenance, you can actually turn it into a “new antique” that you can again pass on to your own heirs.