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DIY Swingset Makeover

I am SO excited to share yet another playhouse makeover with you guys!! We have been planning on doing a painted swing set all spring, but needed a good dry weekend with NO chance of rain to make it happen.  

We had your typical backyard swingset that really needed to be stained or painted this year so there was no time like the present. Read below to check out how we did our DIY swingset makeover.

If you want to see more of our love for playhouses check out this post for an understairs playhouse, and this post for a plastic playhouse update, and follow along with #ArinsCuteCottages on Instagram!

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White painted swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

 

DIY PAINTED SWING SET MAKEOVER

I think it goes without saying that first things first you need a swingset.  We personally have the one in the image below.  I will talk about the structural changes we made on ours, but yours could be slightly different based on your original structure. 

SAM's Club Swingset

Getting It Structurally Ready

We took off the climbing wall the was originally attached to where our slide is.  We then took off the slide and attached that where the climbing wall was before.  That was easy as can be, and moved the slide to the side of the structure. old wooden swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

We then used some boards to close up the hole where the slide was.  This gave me a pretty “house front” and also relieved some stress for me because we had less holes high up for our young kids to fall from. Dismantled wood climbing wall | DIY Swingset Makeover

The only other structural change was removing the small bar seating that was on the bottom level.  Our kids NEVER once sat on them so it didn’t make sense to keep that part. Old wooden swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

Clean Up

Now that those steps are done it’s all about clean up.  You need to get as much of the old stain, and dirt and stuff off before you start painting.  First you will want to power wash the swing set.  

Remove all the accessories you can.  Handlebars, swings, slide and so on.  Remove the door.  

Now let it fully dry.  This may not take too long if you are doing it in the middle of the summer!White swingset with magnolia wreath | DIY Swingset Makeover

Now to Paint!

Now for the fun part.  You will be amazed at the difference the first 10 min of this next part makes! 

One thing to note – you need to paint with an OUTDOOR PAINT!

Personally, we purchased this paint sprayer, which allowed us to paint the whole playset in 2.5 gallons of paint and just an hour per coat.  To us that was TOTALLY worth it, and the paint sprayer was AMAZING!!

We started by paining everything white.  We taped off the metal corner brackets on the swing bar because those couldn’t be removed and we wanted them to stay green. We did the whole thing, inside and outside.  

We then let that first coat dry over night and did a second coat the next night!Kids on white swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

The door was painted black separately while removed with a can of black spray paint.  

Once everything else was done being painted we simply used some black paint we had and a roller to paint the roof. Go slowly so you don’t drip on the white!Kids swinging on DIY swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

Re – assemble

Attach the slide and handles where necessary and re-hang swings

Add accessories if you so choose. This is where you can get creative.  I personally left ours pretty plain because I know I will have fun decorating it for the seasons.  I added this thermometer that I love, these planter boxes, and a magnolia wreath that can be changed out seasonally.swingset planters | DIY Swingset Makeover

Re attach the door – we did a new handle also.

Fill inner under portion with mulch or rock.  Grass will die In there so you’re better off doing something to keep from muddy feet.  We personally chose small pebbles and it has been perfect!

 

White swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

Update on the Painted Swing set

I get asked A LOT how this is holding up.  It has been roughly 2 years since this DIY and stockingly it is doing well.  I would say that the overall swing set is holding up just as well if not better than it would have if it had been stained.

 The bottom where the trimmer and lawn mower get it has had the hardest time, and we have had to reroller the roof one time, which is about a 10 min process.  Over all I have been very impressed with how it has held up and would definitely recommend it!

 

White swingset | DIY Swingset Makeover

Join the Conversation

16 thoughts on “DIY Swingset Makeover

  1. Obsessed with this!! How did you use the paint sprayer without getting white paint on the surrounding areas?

  2. So pretty!! I want to do mine white! How has this stood up to the weather? I want to paint mine white but everyone is saying it will show all dirt and get gross faster. Has yours stayed in pretty good shape?

    1. It has done really well!! The roof needs a second coat this year – however we did that on the thinner side because we were running out of the black paint we had on hand. As far as dirt I don’t think it shows any really. I have been REALLY happy with it. The only other area I have noticed it showing paint loss is where the trimmer hits it, but honestly that is basically covered with grass and doesn’t phase me!

    1. Oh my goodness, thank you so much! They are just from Home Depot, and we screwed straight through the plastic into the house!

  3. This is cute! Where did you find the door/how did you make it. My kids would love a door & windows!!

  4. Hi, I love this so so much! We actually just got this same set for free. I did want to know how y’all painted the roof? Did y’all use a ladder or take it all apart then paint?

  5. Love the makeover. It is just beautiful and I’m thinking of doing it myself. What outdoor paint did you use?

  6. This looks sooo good! We have this exact play set and have plans to paint it just as yours this spring. Also, oddly enough, we were going to move the slide to the side as well (due to a slanted yard). Would you mind telling me what paint and color you used that has held up so well? Sorry, if I missed that somewhere in the post. Thanks!

    1. Hi! We used a standard white paint in an outdoor paint. Definitely needs to be outdoor because of the wear and tear it will get! We LOVED the DIY – one suggestion I would make is to consider doing mulch or gravel around the swing set area because mowing the grass and trimming made keeping the bottom clean and nice hard.

      Arin