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Garden Makeover 2 ~ Transforming garden accessories


The first part of this make-over were my initial attempts at making the Concrete Mushrooms which made very attractive pieces scattered in the lawn.

Frankly, when I begin any art or craft or diy project, I don’t have a clear picture of what the outcome “look” would be, but when the finished “look” is close to good, taking all those pictures and making notes etc, of when it was being processed, becomes so worth the while.

I love making tutorials. Its my way of sharing some joy with my readers and it gives me a great sense of achievement when someone finds inspiration, by something, I shared.  So a BIG THANK YOU to all of you, my dear readers, who appreciated and encouraged me with your lovely comments for the CONCRETE MUSHROOMS !

Back to the Garden Makeover :- The other improvements included giving a facelift to some of the accessories that have been an integral part of the garden for several years.

In a country where most old items and furniture are chugged out easily ~ I don’t like the idea of dumping “things” if there is considerable “life” left in it. I prefer to give mine alittle TLC,  some shine and hopefully some better days ahead for them.

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Dubai receives some very harsh treatment from the Sun for a good 5-6 months. It can become incredibly unbearable for any idle object to sit in an outdoor area and soak up the direct sunlight with temperatures running anywhere between 45* – 49*Celcius for hours, endlessly.  Most of our garden chairs, glass tables, benches and accessories bear the brunt of the merciless Sun.

So this October, I armed myself with some sanding paper and a couple of cans of spray paint and “got my sons to do the needful” !!!!

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The bench was a real sore eye ! So my oldest got around to sanding it with the sanding machine. I cannot emphasis just how important sanding is for wood or anything rusted as well. It is time consuming but it almost renews life into these pieces, let alone the smoothness achieved.  Each one of the boys, took turns to paint a couple of coats of white paint on the bench.

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My Eldest, buddy working his charm on the bench 🙂

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Two days later ~ we had a beautiful white “shabby chic looking” bench !!

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These Ikea lanterns had gotten so rusty and ugly that it was incredibly difficult to sand the nooks and cranny of these lanterns. But I wasn’t ready to present them to the garbage bin 🙂  ~  I think, the boys did a good job considering its previous hideous state.

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Not bad ~ what say ?

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I have used this tray earlier to display some seashells ~ I have something else planned up for it this time round 🙂

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What a drastic change, isn’t it ?

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These lantern stands have been a part of my garden for quite a few years and had undergone transformations earlier too, but I think, I like this one much  better :-

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Needless to say, just how gross the stands look !! and how pretty the transformation turned out !

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Last but not the least, we bought these lovely pine cones from out trip to England last summer. I spray painted it with silver color (I know it looks like white but it is silver)

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So there you have it !! A little facelift can make a huge difference. I was trying to add up all the little transformations that I had made, to bring about a sense of aesthetics and charm in the garden and porch.

Please tell me which transformation is the best  ( in your opinion) :-

  1. the bench
  2. the lanterns
  3. the stand
  4. the pinecones

I  would like to share my makeovers with the following friends and their lovely blog parties :-

Thank you for visiting me today. Your comments add a lot of encouragement to my creative endeavors.

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46 comments

  1. Hi I’m visiting via TTF 🙂 Such great projects! I’m working on upgrading my back deck as well. I started by staining the deck itself in late fall (November, here) and next I’m going to tackle some lighting issues and some accessories. You’ve inspired me! Blessings, Diana
    Adirondack Girl @ Heart

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  2. Isn’t it amazing what a fresh coat of paint and some prep work can do. I love the green & white! Your projects turned out great. I really love your lanterns.Thanks for sharing @DearCreatives party! I hope I have time to work in my garden & do a few projects soon. 😉 Theresa .

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    • hee hee !! I have one wing man who’s like the most efficient and keen 12 year old DIY guy ~~ However, the oldest and the youngest are generally bribed to be a part of the projects 😉

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  6. Great job recycling what you have into lovely “new” pieces for your outdoor area. That bench is very pretty and stylish.

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    • Thank you Donna ! We’ve had that bench for nearly 7 years and its awesome how it shines up after a couple of coats of paint !

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  9. Wow, I love all the projects. I’m going to be repainting many of my garden decorations soon, planter hooks, lanterns, etc. I did love the pinecones, we have so many here I’m definitely going to break out some spray paint… beautiful.

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  11. O, I love all your projects…that bench is to die for. You did a great job on all of them.
    Here from Ivy and Elephants…Hope u will come by to see me soon.
    xo bj

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  21. You and your boys have really been busy. As much as I like rustic and chippy. Things do need restored now and then or they will rot away! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  23. Loved seeing your projects from start to finish! Such an amazing transformation and they all look really pretty! Thanks for sharing on the Four Season Blog Hop!! We always enjoy your posts.
    Easy Life Meal & Party Planning

    Reply

  28. Good for you! You’ve done a good job of transforming things you already owned. Hope you enjoy using them in your garden!

    Thanks so much for joining Grace at Home!

    Reply

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