Setting Up A Vintage-Inspired Cookout
Laura Hughes and her team over at Vintage 61 Storehouse in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, are back with clever tips and ideas for creating a vintage-inspired cookout in your yard! Summer is in full swing here in the US, and it’s time for barbecues, cookouts, long days and warm nights.
Grab a cold drink, kick your feet up and let Laura and her team show you how easy it is to add touches of vintage charm to your next cookout using MMS Milk Paint!
Painting Outdoor Furniture Using MMS Milk Paint
A Vintage Americana Color Palette
The first step to hosting an amazing outdoor cookout is to make sure everyone has a place to sit and eat! Laura and her team wanted to make sure everything, including the seating, was part of a good ‘ol fashioned Americana color scheme.
They painted several outdoor pieces using this gorgeous palette:
Schoolhouse Red is one of our new colors that we’re excited to add to our collection this year! It’s more of a brick red when compared with the brightness of Tricycle.
Stay tuned for availability and release dates!
The Picnic Table Reimagined
Throw away the notion of having a traditional picnic table at your next cookout! Laura and her team used wooden sawhorses from the Home Depot for the legs of her picnic table. The top is an old door that was simply laid on top. The sawhorse legs and accompanying bench were painted in Artissimo. This setup gives you vintage charm and a functioning set of sawhorses for your next painting project! The whole arrangement can easily be disassembled and stored away for your next get-together.
Refreshing Vintage Outdoor Chairs
Our Milk Paint is incredibly versatile and can be used on a variety of surfaces. These vintage lawn chairs were a bit unsightly when Laura and her team first found them. They are constructed of plastic, metal and wood. A few coats of Schoolhouse Red quickly brought their charm right back where it belongs! Our Milk Paint adhered beautifully to the chairs with the help of proper prep work and our Bonding Agent.
Adding some throw pillows and cushions will help keep metal chairs like these comfortable for your guests as well. Resident interior designer, “Miss Kathy” chose a pop of mustard yellow for her accent cushions and pillows.
(By the way, if you like the floor in Laura’s photos, it’s painted in Grain Sack and stenciled in Trophy!)
Painting Wicker Furniture
The term “wicker” describes a pattern of weaving often found on outdoor/sunroom furniture. These pieces can be made using rattan, other natural fibers or even synthetic products.
In the Vintage 61 Storehouse outdoor cooking scene, this cozy wicker sofa was refreshed using our dreamy Artissimo.
Depending on the state of your wicker furniture, you may or may not need Bonding Agent to help MMS Milk Paint adhere. The more worn the original material is, the less likely it is that you’ll need our adhesive additive. When in doubt though, squirt a bit of Bonding Agent into your mixed MMS Milk Paint for extra insurance.
Bonding Agent will also help Milk Paint adhere on metal surfaces, like the galvanized metal tub shown in the photo above. These make great holders for drinks at your cookout - just pour some ice in and start cooling off your favorite beverages (especially the adult kind)! If you’d like to try the custom color Laura whipped up for that tub, mix equal parts Artissimo with Colonial Blue (formally named Shutter Gray). Laura says that our color palette is endless when you mix colors! You’re not limited to what’s in the bag.
Okay, back to the wicker sofa! The mustard yellow accents abound with square and lumbar pillows and a cozy throw. Miss Kathy recommends having some throws and other blankets handy for picnics in the grass or snuggling up around the bonfire. These are also an easy way to bring in a fun accent color and add pops of personality. Notice how she blended different textures and patterns? There are grain sack stripes, boho fringe and whip stitched seams that all work together on a single cozy wicker sofa.
Sealing Outdoor Furniture
When it comes to pieces being used outside, you’ll need to bump up your topcoat/sealer choice to something that’s more durable than an interior finish. Waxes and Hemp Oil are not designed for exterior use, so we recommend you opt for Tung Oil. This is exactly what Laura and her team did on her exterior pieces.
While our Tung Oil that was offered early on in our collection has since retired, we’re excited to share that we’ll have an easy-to-use solvent-free Tung Oil blend available this Fall. You won’t have to fuss with solvent ratios, and you can rest assured your pieces will be ready to go for outdoor fun!
You can read more about refinishing outdoor furniture (including topcoat recommendations) in this blog post:
Cookout Games
While you’re waiting for the burgers and hotdogs to finish grilling, keep your guests entertained with classic outdoor games!
Checkerboards, cornhole sets and even Jenga® blocks can all be painted using MMS Milk Paint!
If you look in the lower right hand corner of this photo, you’ll see a sweet yellow wash tub (painted in 2 parts Mustard Seed Yellow + 2 Parts Linen) filled with wooden blocks.
They’re an outdoor Jenga® set that Laura’s team found at Home Goods! The blocks were raw wood, so the Vintage 61 team decided to paint them with Tricycle and Artissimo. You can always chop 2 by 4’s into Jenga® blocks as well. In the video at the end of this post, Miss Kathy shows you how pretty they look when they’re all stacked up.
Lights, Food, Action!
Be creative when it comes to displaying and presenting food at your outdoor cookout. This pretty vignette demonstrates how you can present berries in actual berry baskets! Just line them with wax paper or plastic wrap to keep the berries clean.
Washstand painted in Schoolhouse Red with Hemp Oil
Nestling a thermos of lemonade or iced tea next to cups will help your guests quench their thirst quickly. Keep a towel handy for spills so your space is tidy!
Put snacks in vintage yellow ware bowls or blue willow china for an extra throwback touch. (Plus, these can be sourced for a few dollars at thrift stores and auctions.)
When the sun starts to set, and the fireflies come out, use clever light sources to layer on that vintage feel. Weave bare bulb string lights around deck railings, tree limbs or even the arms of an umbrella!
Facebook Live Broadcast
Now it’s time to see all of this in action. Enjoy watching Laura’s live from our Facebook page!
Are you feeling inspired to throw your own vintage cookout? Our talented retailers, like Laura at Vintage 61 Storehouse, are ready and waiting to help you find the paint products and accessories you’ll need. We know you’ll be enjoying those perfect summer nights with friends and family soon!
