Ten DIY Upcycling Ideas for Outdoor and Garden Furniture

You can create a unique patio table easily using an upturned cable wheel. You can leave it as-is for a rustic look or sand it down and add a coat of weatherproof paint in a bright colour combo of your choosing – it’s up to you!

If you’ve always wanted a bench in your garden, why not make one for a fraction of the cost using an old wooden pallet? It’s sure to look perfect in a sunny spot among the flowers – or anywhere else you choose to put it. You can opt to keep it bare, stain it or customise your new seat with a lick of sunny-toned paint. Take a look at DIY pallet projects for budget-friendly furniture for inspiration.

If you’ve built the bench and have some leftover pallets, you can strip these down to the boards to make some sturdy foldaway chairs. It might need slightly more DIY skills – as well as a few nuts, bolts and wood glue – but it means you’ll always have an extra seat for unexpected guests.

There are so many different uses for pallets. Besides making benches and folding chairs, you can turn them on their ends and transform them into planters. They might seem a bit plain at first, but once your flowers start to grow they’ll make a vibrant addition to your garden.

Got an old tyre lying around? It’s a simple job to transform it into a planter. You could even add a rope or chain and make a hanging basket that looks equally fab suspended from a tree or up against a wall. If you like, upcycle several tyres and paint them in a rainbow of jazzy colours.

Another idea for cool-looking upcycled chairs, which are super simple to make, is to cut away part of some oil drums and add some reclaimed wood for the seating.

If you’ve got an old washing machine you’re about to get rid of, it’s worth keeping the drum. By sealing the bottom and adding a grill, it can become a fire pit/BBQ, or even a plant pot.

Instead of buying another plant pot for your garden, you could try making one out of anything, from old wellies and bicycle baskets to sinks and even bath tubs. If you’re looking for something simple however, a cable reel does a great job, too.

You can make the perfect setup for a kids’ tea party using upcycled items, such as plastic crates for chairs and an upturned cable drum for a table. The drums are stackable, and you can even make the chair seats removable and use them to store outdoor toys.

If you’ve got an old bookshelf you want to get rid of, why not move it outside and turn it into a herb garden? All it needs is sanding down, a coat of exterior paint and a little personalising and you’re good to go. Or, how about creating a living garden wall?

Now you’ve got your garden looking unique and fantastic, how about getting planting? You can find everything from gardening tools to seeds here at Gumtree.