Spray painting outdoor cushions

Outdoor cushions are soooo expensive! The weather had taken it's toll on my brown ones. Plus, I tried washing the covers in the washing machine and it made them even more faded and left white lines on them. Grrrr....

I've been searching everywhere for replacements, but didn't want to pay $100+ for new. If I knew how to sew I would have purchased outdoor fabric and recovered them, but unfortunately I don't. I have improvised in the past using hot glue. Check out my no sew pillow covers tutorial. This approach will not work on outdoor cushions though.

To tie me over until summer items go on sale, I tried spray painting them. Yes, you read that right. I got the idea from The Frugal Homemaker,  A Cultivated Nest, and The Happier Homemaker. They all really liked how their cushions turned out. I'm not wild about mine, but they're okay. I don't think I'd try this approach again.

I used Rust-Oleum Satin Espresso Brown from Menards. 

My little photobomber

Ignore how terrible our lawn looks underneath the deck please.

The top has not been spray painted yet, the bottom has.

1st coat

Left one does not have spray paint, the right does.

Top has been spray painted with two coats, the bottom has zero.

Below are the final results. They could have used a third coat, but I figured why buy another can of spray paint if I'm going to replace them when cushions go on sale at the end of summer...

Looks kind of splotchy

Meh

I'm super embarrassed to even show this, but cat hair sticks to them now like crazy! Our cat likes to lounge on these cushions and I'm so appalled by the pile of hair he leaves behind. (Full disclosure, people. I aim to please.) It never stuck like that before I spray painted them.

From a distance they look pretty good. The spray paint does not come off, it repels water, and it doesn't make the fabric horribly stiff although you will notice a difference in texture. Overall, I don't know that I'd recommend this approach for a permanent fix. I think I'll file it away under my flops.

A third coat of spray paint would have helped with the splotchiness so buy more than you think you need. Also, I should have held the can further away and applied lighter coats. Others have had luck doing this so it still might be worth a try if you're desperate to give your cushions a refresh! I've also heard of bloggers mixing regular brush-on paint with fabric medium and applying it with luck. I would imagine this would prevent stiffness.

One thing I have done right on our porch is my potted hostas. They keep getting bigger and bigger and I just love them!