DIY Inspiration: Salvaging Old Iron Garden Bench and Chair Set

While helping a neighbor of mine move, we found an old set of rusted, broken iron garden furniture (a bench and two chairs) buried in a tall growth of weeds at the back of their shed. To many people, as they were to my neighbor, they’d be considered trash… but to me, well, I still saw beauty in the scroll work of the patterns and knew that with just a little effort to sand, a few screws, and a good paint job, the seating could be restored to live another life in my garden.

I’m a sucker for ornate pieces and for salvaging well made items like this one.  I will say, the chairs and bench are heavy little buggers and I certainly got my share of a workout getting them home!

Where they sat for awhile just waiting for some TLC from me and a final decision on where they would find a happy home in my yard.

The chairs were first up, I used a light tan paint that I had leftover from a different project.  For the main one I found a super cute welcome sign for a $1 on summer clearance at a local store.  A simple potted plant (wired to the bottom so my cats and dogs won’t knock it off) completed the refinish and the chair now has a prominent place in my front garden near our front porch.  It needs a little touch up from being weathered, but still looks mighty cute and welcoming!

The bench, however, sat for a bit as it needed more repair… and sat and sat because you know that’s how it goes when a busy schedule gets in the way, until finally it received the attention it deserved.  Hubs fixed the bottom with a few screws and by attaching a board to support the cracked middle section.  I sanded and used another batch of paint we had leftover (this time charcoal black) to shine it up and then recycled an old window box planter to find a new place atop the bench.

Planning to add more color with thriving plants, but as you can see, it’s been so dry here, not even watering is helping the plants grow much…  Still, it’s a lovely addition to our side garden.

Have you rescued or up-cycled any items lately?  I’d love to hear about them!