Using paint outdoors is incredibly easy – you just need to follow a few rules to make sure your projects stay colourful and cheerful for years to come!

Can Chalk Paint be used outside?

Firstly, to answer one of our most frequently asked questions: yes! Chalk Paint can be used outdoors. There’s no need to prep or prime your outdoor furniture — simply wipe away any cobwebs and get painting.

What can I paint?

Chalk Paint can be used on most surfaces. Garden furniture, patios, flagstones, fencing, brick, stone, terracotta and metal are some of the surfaces you can paint to bring colour to your outdoor space. Old plastic, metal and wood furniture can all be given a quick revamp in just a few hours.

How do I seal my painting?

Never use Chalk Paint Wax outdoors. Use Chalk Paint Lacquer in Gloss or Matt, depending on the look you’re going for. Both contain UV-filtering properties, are water-based, and water-resistant. This will protect the paint from fading or peeling and water damage.

It is important to lacquer anything that will be touched a lot, sat on, or has a horizontal surface that could collect water or fade in bright sunlight.  As well as providing a protective finish, it will give a sleek, contemporary look to tired garden furniture.

Just make sure you apply two thin coats of Chalk Paint Lacquer so you can be sure the entire painted piece is fully protected, preventing any water ingress, which over time will cause paint peeling.

Any exceptions?

There is no need to lacquer vertical surfaces like shed walls, fencing, and brickwork. These are all porous and vertical facing. so they are less prone to UV or water damage.

If you’re embracing the authentic rustic French or farmhouse aesthetic and applying Chalk Paint to the sort of porous surface it loves (think commonly used outdoor materials such as untreated wood, tiles, terracotta, brick, or stone), simply applying Chalk Paint alone will give a most beautiful velvety, romantic, bohemian-rustic look. The pigment in the Chalk Paint will be absorbed into the material and give a stain that will be baked in by the sun, and over the years it will fade and age organically.

What colours are best?

Crisp whites, Mediterranean neutrals or tropical brights will bring sunshine, and cheer all year round – whatever the weather!

Capability Green is a botanical colour which sparks all the happy, open-hearted, joyful feelings of the great outdoors. Inspired by 18th century English country style, it is a colour that looks wonderful in all gardens. I’ve taken inspiration

Spice colours like Riad Terracotta, inspired by the bazaars of Marrakesh, evoke the chic bohemian elegance of Moroccan inspired gardens.

Coral is a beautiful choice for your outdoor spaces. The contrast between the verdant green of plants and a bright blue sky and this warm colour looks stunning. Try Scandinavian Pink, an earthy deep pink, or Sandalwood Red, to create a gorgeous clash of colours.

A soft yellow like Tilton or an earthy yellow ochre like Arles are the sunniest, happiest, choices for your gardens. Yellow will bring sunshine to your garden on the rainiest of days and it works well whether your flowerbeds are in full bloom or if you’re working with patios and concrete.

What are your top tips?

• Play with bright colours – being bold is easier outdoors. Colour clashes bring joy and interest, which is perfect in the garden.
• Be open-minded! Brick walls, terracotta flowerpots, and wooden planters are all ideal candidates for a joy-bringing pop of colour.
• Recruit the kids! Garden furniture tends to be big and basic and small hands can easily assist.