Wicker Furniture Makeover

Like many other people, I inherited this wicker furniture set from my mother who didn’t want them any more. She asked and I, being thrifty like I am, said “Yes!” before she finished her offer. It’s not because this was a fantastic set. Frankly it’s not my style in any way shape or form but I’m a firm believer in taking something that’s still usable and updating it to fit your style rather than just going out and buying something new. I had seen the set before and I knew it was in good shape. I didn’t tell her I was going to paint it (whoops!) but knowing her, I knew she would be all for it!

What You’ll Need

• Fine grit sand paper
• Spray paint
• And that’s it!

Step One: Prepping the Wicker

This step is pretty easy, you really just need to sand down the furniture especially if there are previous coats of paint. This enables the wood of the wicker to accept the paint better. Another aspect of the prepping stage is to tighten up any strands that have come loose or to completely cut them off as long as they don’t compromise the integrity of the furniture or the wicker strands as a whole. The below image is after I sanded the wicker chair down.

Step Two: Painting the Wicker

Once you’ve sanded everything down, it’s now time to go ahead and paint your wicker. First, I tried painting the wicker with a brush and paint that I already had. This took FOREVER. I would not recommend it in any way shape or form because there is just no way that a paint brush can get into all the nooks and crannies. I eventually turned to spray paint in the same color and took off like a rocket! I had to do several coats yes, but what would have taken days to paint, took maybe an hour for the first coat. After it dried I flipped the chair over and spray painted it from the bottom. Then, I just went back over it with more spray paint and hit those areas that were still white. This took several passes because it would look fully covered from one angle and then you would still see the white paint through another angle.

The overall color and look is exactly what I was going for. I’m not the biggest fan of the floral print but they were free and they are still in fantastic shape so I really don’t care! The new color matches the print (at least I think so) so I’m good! You can sit on them without the cushions as well.

I’m not finished with the love seat, as it needs the bottom painted and the legs painted again but it’s to a point to where I can at least get them outside. I also have a coffee table (I know, a three piece wicket set for free!) I just haven’t gotten there yet.

At the end of the day, I had to use 7 cans of spray paint at about $5 per can. That’s around $35. Buying a whole new three piece wicker set would have been in the hundreds of dollars so either way, I’m ahead of the game!

Check out our Video on How to Refinish Wicker