Quick & Easy Garden-Furniture Makeovers

Make a regular old wooden garden bench sing with a little paint in wildly colorful stripes. Start by painting the bulk of the bench a single vibrant hue, then brush the back spindles in an arresting array of your favorite colors. Sew a beach towel around a cushion to make it match.

We transformed a plain wicker bench into this cozy retreat using a quilt as inspiration. Pull a color -- or even a design -- from your favorite quilt and paint it onto the curved arms and back of a wicker love seat. Use the coverlet as a cushion and a lace-edged dust ruffle for soft skirting.

While a basic black iron chair looks good on its own, you can make it look great. Just dress it up with a little jewelry. This comfortable classic -- an oversize wrought-iron dining chair -- glitters thanks to a skirt of beaded fringe and pewter-painted accents.

The ubiquitous Adirondack chair is perfectly comfortable but not always stylish. So we dressed it up with a Zen feel. Here, soothing, subdued color and rich detail flatter the American icon, with its wide arms and gently sloping back. The result is a fresh, harmonious, and comfortable blend of two cultures.

Plastic outdoor furniture is inexpensive and lightweight -- but not always stylish. Add charm with a little paint. Here, we've accented a plain plastic chaise with colorful circles. Use any colors and designs you want!

Swings are fun to sit on. Make yours as enjoyable to the eye as it is to your bottom with a refreshing coat of paint. We were inspired by citrus hues -- lemon, tangerine, and lime -- when we remade this swing. (It's a perfect way to lighten up a shady corner of your yard or porch!)

Get your furniture ready for a tropical-theme party. This regular old plastic lawn chair becomes a festive showpiece in minutes. We simply attached two grass skirts and a fabric lei from a party supply store. It's topped off by a comfy cushion covered in outdoor-safe fabric.

Just use fabric for an instant makeover of your garden furniture. Outdoor-friendly fabrics are the perfect way to dress up any old piece of furniture in minutes. And you can change the look as often as you want.

Another quick and easy way to dress up your old plastic furniture is with slipcovers. Ready-made, outdoor-friendly covers are available in a wide ranges of colors and styles. Just slip them on and off as you need!

Paint on colorful patterns with perfect ease by using painter's tape. Just cover the areas of your furniture you want to stay white and you'll have perfectly straight lines (with no bleeding) for a professional look. It just takes a few minutes of extra prep time.

A quick coat of silver spray paint and a boldly colored cushion turn an old plastic chair into a work of art that looks as good on a high-rise balcony in New York City as it does in small-town Iowa. Watch for sales on throw pillows so you can have a range of cushions to personalize your chair to your mood.