We may have only just had the first few glimmers of Spring sunshine, but now is the best time to start preparing for Summer. It may not feel like Summer yet, but trust me, you will be thanking yourself later if you prepare for it now. That way, when the weather is at its best you are free to just kick back and enjoy it.
Put New Life into the Garden
In the summer the garden suddenly becomes the best place to be. Whether you’re alone or entertaining guests, when the weather is good all anyone wants to do is to be outside and make the most of the Sun. There are a lot of very quick and easy ways to refresh the look of your garden with minimal effort. A fresh lick of paint, and a splash of colour can work wonders.
There are generally two styles of garden decorating that you can choose from. The first is to use bright colours and designs to add vibrancy to the garden: coloured furniture, bright plant pots etc. Our Universal Aerosols range and the Painters Touch ranges are ideal for this. They’re easy to use, and come in a range of colours, even metallic colours, and they are suitable for outdoor use.
Often the use of bright colours in a garden is used to compensate for a lack of colour variation in the garden naturally. Often gaining colour by painting the furniture is a lot easier than trying to grow and maintain a lot of brightly coloured flowers! And the change that it can make to a garden is phenomenal.
The other way to style your garden furniture is to use natural tones. Natural tones are a great way of bringing out the natural beauty of a garden by mimicking the garden environment. The Stone Textured and the Natural Effect aerosols are ideal for this, as they blend in almost organically to the outside surroundings. This allows the natural beauty and the colours of the flowers to really stand out.
The texture of these products accurately replicates the look and feel of the natural materials, adding to the authenticity and professional appearance of to the decorated areas.
If you like the look of both ideas, why not try merging the two? Use Natural effect paints, with focal pieces in brighter colours.
Get that BBQ ready
The best thing about the summer is always a good Barbecue. So on preparation for the Summer you need to make sure that your BBQ is not only in full working order, but also looking fresh and new. Keeping your BBQ looking good can often be a challenge, especially given that most British Barbecues aren’t complete without at least a small shower of rain! The weather beaten stoves are then left untouched for most of the year, and then when we come round to using them again when the weather improves they are unsightly.
Luckily there are a lot of heat resistant Stove and BBQ paints that can refresh the look of your old BBQ. They withstand heats of up to 650°C, and also provide rust protection to help keep the surface safe no matter what the weather forecast may bring. This means that you won’t have to buy a new BBQ for a long time, and its appearance will remain high quality.
The Flowers that Grow
Flowers are a beautiful way of improving the appearance of your garden. But what a lot of people forget, is that the flowers live in flowerpots. And if the flowerpots look scruffy or dull then it can ruin the whole appearance of the garden.
Painting flower pots s one of those great projects where you can let your creativity run with it, and they possibilities really are endless. As with furniture you can choose between any number of neutral and colourful tones. But you can also let your imagination run with designs. We have decorative stencils and stamps that can add the flair of design. Alternatively, give them to children for a craft project. We have special toysafe paints that are suitable for outdoor application, meaning that the children can help to get the garden looking new and exciting.
Make use of what you may already have
A lot of people have things in their gardens already that are forgotten about, or aren’t being used to their full potential. One of the best examples of this is the use of garden sheds. For a lot of people their shed is merely a place for storing residual garden items that they don’t want elsewhere. However, they can present a great opportunity to once again let your creativity shine through. There are lots of paints that are perfect for sheds, and many of them can be made to any colour that you can think of. So why leave the shed as a bleak brown eyesore?
If you really want to get your imagination going, why not turn it into an outdoor playhouse for children?
So before the weather really starts hotting up, see what you can do to prepare for the Summer.
And don’t forget, you can even prepare for the rain! Waterproof your chairs and seats with NeverWet. . . Just in case.