These old church pews sat in a tiny church in Conway, Missouri for years before they found their way into my grandparents’ possession. They sat in an old barn for I don’t know how long, and now they belong to me. They were in pretty good shape, even the upholstery, just really dusty. They sat on my front porch for a long time before I decided to do anything different with them. But now that I am replacing my front porch and giving it a makeover, I’ve decided to give the furniture a makeover, too.
I was going to be more ambitious with the paint job and the upholstery, but since this is my first furniture restoration project, I decided to play it safe. I got some advice from people online and decided to go with teal. The upholstery is still in good shape, and I kind of like the color and the pattern, so I decided to leave it alone. The first thing I had to do was give it a really thorough cleaning. I dusted and vacuumed and then gave it a good scrubbing with soapy water. I then sprayed the whole thing clean with a garden hose. I’m not sure if this is the best way to clean old furniture, so if you have advice, feel free to drop it in the comments.
After letting it dry overnight, I decided it was time to paint. I could’ve sanded and stained it or removed the old paint, but since this is going to be outdoor furniture, I wasn’t too worried about it. So instead, I decided just to paint over the brown paint. I really like the results. Once my front porch is done, I’ll put these back out and pick out my favorite decorative pillows to go on top. What do you think?
