Forest with two bright yellow garden chairs (Giallo) with a barbeque lit surrounded by trees.

How to Paint Outdoor Furniture

Use colour to refresh and revitalise a piece of outdoor furniture for the summer months. Whether you choose to coordinate your patio set with its natural surroundings, or renew a tired bench with a colour highlight, even a simple weekend project can transform your yard. The full Little Greene palette is available in a range of exterior finishes, so you can create an inspiring outdoor space.

Tips for painting outdoor furniture: Choosing an exterior paint finish

Our family of exterior finishes offers a combination of strength and beauty. Choose from a range of hardwearing, water-based paints in various sheen levels to ensure your furniture stays beautiful for years to come:

Intelligent Exterior Eggshell is weather-resistant and completely washable. Touch dry in just 2-4 hours, your DIY project can be completed in just one afternoon.
Intelligent Gloss is a tough finish that achieves a sophisticated high sheen in both interior and exterior projects. This water-based gloss is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional oil-based paints.

Chairs: Giallo

Outdoor dining space featuring a dark green (Puck) wall, a light grey (French Grey) table and a bright pink (Carmine) chair.

A key consideration before beginning your project is to make sure that the weather provides good conditions for painting. The ambient temperature should be above 40˚F with no risk of rain during application or drying. Avoid painting in full sun or on warm surfaces as this will affect the way the paint dries.

Even when working outdoors, we still recommend protecting the surrounding areas. Place down a protective dust sheet before painting, to protect your patio or decking from any splashes and spills.

Wall: Puck

Table: French Grey

Left Chair: Carmine

Right Chair: French Grey Mid

Painting Tools You Will Need

For wooden furniture:

Clean cloth
Sugar soap
Medium-grade sandpaper
Wood primer (for knotted wood)
Your chosen exterior paint finish
Brush or roller

For plastic furniture:

Clean cloth
Sugar soap
Medium-grade sandpaper
Your chosen exterior paint finish
Brush or roller

For metal furniture:

Clean cloth
Sugar soap
Medium-grade sandpaper
Your chosen exterior paint finish
Proprietary primer (for non-ferrous metals)
Intelligent All Surface Primer tinted to your chosen shade (optional)
Brush or roller

Table: Etruria

Chairs: Pale Lime

Outdoor kitchen painted in deep terracotta red 'Tuscan Red' with brickwork, plants and a wooden table and bench.

How to paint wooden outdoor furniture

Before painting wood, ensure that the surface is clean and free of dust and any other debris for a smooth finish.
Smooth planed timber can be rubbed down with a medium-grade sandpaper.
Seal any knots with wood primer before proceeding with two coats of your chosen Little Greene furniture paint.
Lightly rub down between coats to remove any dust.
Use Little Greene’s exterior wooden furniture paint and let dry.

Back Wall: Tuscan Red

Outside brick wall painted in red shade 'Ashes of Roses' with bright green garden table and pink chair.

How to paint plastic outdoor furniture

Even plastic outdoor furniture can be given a seasonal uplift with our exterior finishes, which are hardwearing and extremely versatile.

Ensure the furniture is clean, either by power washing or by rubbing with warm soapy water using a clean cloth.
Lightly sand with 120 grit sandpaper to provide an even surface for painting.
Apply a coat of Little Greene ASP, tinted to the shade of your chosen topcoat.
Proceed with two coats of Little Greene’s paint for plastic outdoor furniture in either Intelligent Gloss or Intelligent Exterior Eggshell for a beautiful smooth finish. We recommend leaving the paint to cure for 3-5 days, before using the furniture.

Walls: Ashes of Roses

Table: Phthalo Green

Chair: Dorchester Pink

Learn more about our All Surface Primer

Two metal garden chairs painted in the grey-green shade 'Normandy Green', sitting on grass next to a small tree.

How to paint metal outdoor furniture

Painting outdoor metal patio furniture is a great way to revitalise your yard for the summer months. Before applying the colour, you just need to complete a few preparation stages.

Remove any surface rust by hand or mechanically, then prime surfaces using our Intelligent ASP (All Surface Primer).
Non-ferrous metals must be pre-treated with an appropriate proprietary primer.
Apply two coats of your chosen Little Greene metal paint, lightly rubbing down between coats to remove any dust motes.

Chairs: Normandy Grey

Explore our full colour palette in Intelligent ASP

A wooden swing seat painted in the dark green shade 'Harley Green' in front of a brick wall and surrounded by greenery.

How to remove paint from outdoor furniture

Make sure you achieve a beautiful finish when refreshing or repainting your outdoor furniture by properly stripping the existing paint.

Create a clean, dry and grease-free surface using sugar soap to remove all loose and flaking paintwork, then rinse with clean water.
Rub down with a medium-grade sandpaper, feathering in where paint has been removed.
Apply a primer coat of our Intelligent ASP, before adding two topcoats in your chosen colour and finish.

Swing Seat: Harley Green

Outdoor dining area with off white paneled wall (Linen Wash) with a striped cushioned chair and wooden table.

Painting Outdoor Furniture Ideas

The abundance of natural light in your outdoor space makes it the perfect place to experiment with stronger tones. Use deep blues like Smalt and Dock Blue to adorn table legs for an outdoor entertaining space with plenty of impact.

Wall: Linen Wash

Window Frame: Loft White

Table: Smalt

Chair: Bone China Blue

Outside dining area with blue green 'Canton' asymmetrical wall with dining room table and chairs with plants.

Incorporate a green shade into your outdoor scheme to ensure your furniture sits comfortably in the space. Our confident Canton compliments terracotta plant pots and botanical elements.

Wall: Canton

Right Wall: Jack Black

Table: Dock Blue

Exterior panelled wall in green blue shade (Pleat) with a bright Atomic Red chair and neutral Cool Arbour panelled floor.

Smaller projects present the perfect opportunity to be adventurous with colour. Incorporating powerful primary shades such as Atomic Red or Trumpet injects personality into your outdoor space and provides a focal point.

Wall: Pleat

Chair: Atomic Red

Floor: Cool Arbour

Explore our inspiration gallery to discover more ways to update your yard.

Or read advice from our colour experts about introducing colour to outside spaces.