Porch swing cushions

Porch swing cushions

• 8.11.2010

While it's still summer, it's nice to do outdoor decor projects... one of these I thought I'd share with you was the easy but very dramatic makeover I helped my parents do on their nice wood porch swing.
When they bought the c. 1909 house many years ago, it had a grey padded car bench seat hung from chains on the porch.  I don't remember it but it must have been awful.  So, they bought a wood one, simple but nice, and over the years added a new cushion every once in a while.
Now, all these years later, the finish was wearing off, and the color did not go at all with anything else on the porch, and the cushion was just a cheap nylon one from Target or something, and was a couple inches short on the ends since the bench was not a normal size.  So, last weekend when my parents were touching up the paint on the porch railings, I suggested was also paint the porch swing, and I'd make a new cushion cover for it!
Here's a "before" of the aging swing, and a close-up...

So, we painted it the same color as the porch trim!  And my mom had a dusty teal textured cotton that was perfect for the bench cover, coordinating with the soft teal trim on the ceiling and doors, so I put it together on my mom's sewing machine after the paint dried...

We also had enough to make a cushion for the little wicker chair that sits on the porch, also.  I thought about making covered buttons to pull in the dimples and keep the batting in place, but... eh.  So I just make some big tacking stitches that left "X" patterns on top.  The cushion we'd had before wasn't the right size, either, so I made one that fit perfectly using newspaper as a pattern!

And here's the porch they sit on...

I used to love to sit out on the porch on summer evenings and swing along while looking out at the park across the street.  I've moved out now, but my parents still enjoy it, and I come back to visit sometimes!
Do you have any outdoor decor projects you've done, or are meaning to get to, while the weather is warm?