The finished masterpiece
My Deckchair Stripe shades
I took a few days off during the summer with the intention of relaxing, writing and reading but as usual, I decided to drop my plans in favour of a little home improvement. For months, I'd spotted new shades of garden paint in all of the DIY stores and I had an itch which needed to be scratched... it was painting time! Our back garden is surrounded by a wooden fence which we painted cream (Country Cream by Cuprinol) years ago as it brought so much light into out little garden, compared to the usual creosote. But once you start painting, you can't stop because it will eventually need repainting over the years and this time, I wanted a big pop of colour in the garden.
I began by giving the fence a quick blast with the powerwasher to remove moss and algae, then a single coat of the base cream colour when dry, so everything had a neutral base. Then the stripes began. I had 4 brushes and 4 tins of paint which I applied in order so I wouldn't get confused and make a complete hames of things (I can be easily distracted...). So I started with one colour and painted every 4th slat in that colour until I reached the end of the panel. Then repeat, repeat, repeat. By the time I got to the end of the last colour (blue), the first one was completely dry and ready for a second coat. It took about 3-4 hours in total and the results were just fabulous
My advice? Don your oldest clothes, a pair of cheap sunglasses, a cap and latex gloves because paint does splatter and you don't want your best gear looking like a Jackson Pollock. You can now get special wood fence paintbrushes which are perfect for this job as they're the width of the wood and the paint applies really evenly. Garden paint is also water soluble until it dries, so you can wash out and reuse your brushes really easily. And the cost? €20 for the coloured paint - I already had the brushes and the cream paint in the shed, so it was a really great value way to brighten up our patio.
Questions? Just ask!
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