We spend as much time as we can enjoying the great outdoors during the summer months – why not do it in style? Turn your backyard or patio into an outdoor living space with some simple, do-it-yourself painting projects that even the kids can help with!

Add some pizzazz to a wooden picnic table by cleaning it with an appropriate exterior wood cleaner, and allowing it to dry. Next, using a Dynamic 3-inch stain brush, paint the wood with two coats of stain in your preferred colour (clear, tinted or opaque).

To create a harlequin, or diamond, pattern on a rectangular table, divide the short sides of the table by the number of slats and long sides by six using a pencil and ruler to ensure that they are even. Mark the midpoint of each section with a pencil. Starting at one end, connect the midpoints with diagonal lines to create diamonds along the length of the slats.

Firmly press ¾-inch KleenEdge High-Tack Painter’s Tape along the outside edge of the diamonds along each slat. Paint inside the tape lines with a slightly damp Dynamic sea sponge or stipple sponge, using DecoArt Patio Paint in alternating colours that compliment the stain colour. Remove the tape once the paint is dry.

Why not create unique, permanent placemats on a stained tabletop? Use KleenEdge High-Tack Painter’s Tape to create 10" x 18" rectangles along the seating side of the table (this might mean two or three placemats along a rectangular table, or a placemat along each side of a hexagonal or octagonal table – use your judgement).

Paint inside the tape lines with DecoArt Patio Paint in your chosen base colour, using a Dynamic 4" Trim Roller. When the paint is dry, you can then paint your placemat designs either freehand using a Dynamic artist brush or with a Paint Wizard reusable stencil. This is a great summertime project to get the kids involved in – you can let each one decorate his or her own personalized placemat.

To achieve a checkered, or gingham, effect, mask off a grid pattern on your base-coated 10" x 18" rectangles by leaving a strip along the 10" outer edges the width of the Painter’s Tape (¾-inch). Next, alternate a row of tape with a row with no tape the entire length of the placemat to create the warp of your “woven” placement.

Paint along the non-taped lines with DecoArt Patio Paint in a colour that compliments the base colour. When that coat is dry, repeat the taping and painting process in the same colour along the 18" width of the placemat to create the weft of your placemat, again waiting until the paint is dry before removing the tape. Use a Dynamic craft brush to make short fine lines along the outer edges of the 10" sides using both the base and checker colours to create a fringe effect.

You can use the same techniques to personalize your wooden deck with a painted carpet. Just remember to protect your projects with two coats of clear polyurethane to keep them looking fresh and to make them last.

For more creative painting tips and ideas, check out Dynamic’s Get Painting Guides or visit one of our dealers.