Porch Swing Makeover: 3 Easy Ideas
Want to make your swing special? Here are 3 makeover ideas to upgrade a basic porch swing!
Ah, a porch swing! There is nothing more relaxing to me than sitting on a porch swing and feeling the breeze.
Since I use my swing for most months out of the year in Charlotte, NC, I have taken the time over several years to makeover a basic porch swing.
Here are three ideas to try on yours!
My Special Porch Swing
Well yes, I am Porch Daydreamer and clearly hang out on my porch a lot!
One of the questions I get asked often is, “where did you buy your porch swing?”
The answer is always complex, so I decided as we head into porch swing season to put all of the details in one place.
The swing that was originally installed on the porch was your basic black wood painted porch swing.
It hung on chains and was typical of what you would find on a porch 10 years ago.
If my son read my blog, he’d probably not be happy that I shared this picture of him at 10 years old LOL.
Fast forward to how it looks today…the SAME porch swing, but boy does it look more special 🙂
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To say I’ve done a lot of work and made some major improvements to this porch in 10 years is an understatement.
For fun and to show you what is possible, I created a 10 year before and after tour of my home.
More that just my porch has been made over 🙂
3 Ideas to Makeover a Porch Swing
As a baseline, all of these projects were completed over 3 porch seasons.
All of this doesn’t need to be tackled at once, but I do wish I would have painted first!
What I did to make this swing look a lot more special:
- Upholstered the seat with foam and Sunbrella fabric
- Painted a faux driftwood finish
- Wrapped the chain in rope
All of this could be completed in a weekend, if you have the time and the inclination.
The accumulation of a few easy projects made for a unique swing look on my front porch.
Plus the best change was upholstering the seat to make it more comfortable!
Here is a quick review of how it looked over the years.
Yes, I am always redecorating!
What I can tell you is how WELL both the white seat and the faux driftwood finish has held up over the years.
You can read about how I clean my porch in Porch and Patio Fall Cleaning and Decor Tips.
Using a high end exterior paint means the finish is weathering well over 3 seasons and a couple of hurricanes!
The choice of white Sunbrella fabric for the seat was the best choice because I can bleach it clean.
Makeover Supplies
- Wooster Paint Brush
- Quart Valspar Duramax Exterior Paint in Ivory Brown 6006-1C / Satin Finish
- Rags – I find old cut up t-shirts are the best
- Fine Grit Sanding Sponge
- Antiquing Glaze
- Rope 1/2 inch x 100 feet (I had a lot left over!)
- Cable Ties
- 2 yards of outdoor fabric (I used Sunbrella Canvas White)
- 20 in. x 48 in. x 2 in. piece of medium density foam
In total, the swing makeover was about $100 dollars.
Each project added together would take about 5 hours to complete less the paint dry time.
Pin It for Later!
Makeover Project Tutorials
So you can find each project quickly and easily, they are listed below.
Tackle one or all three!
It’s really up to you how you want to customize your swing and make it oh so special!
How-to Makeover a Basic Porch Swing
How-to Wrap a Porch Swing Chain with Rope
Porch swing chains are just plain boring. How to easily wrap the chain with rope in just a few steps.
How-to Upholster a Porch Swing Seat
Make your regular porch swing look like a day bed by upholstering the seat. Plus make it more comfortable too!
Easy Driftwood Paint Finish for Outdoor Furniture
Makeover a porch swing or outdoor furniture with paint. Follow this easy 3 step layering paint process to create an outdoor driftwood gray finish.
Happy Porch Daydreaming on your own newly made over swing!
