How to paint your own garden poles

Step 1
Cut the tops of the posts at a 45 degree angle. This helps rainwater run off more easily and gives the posts a more interesting silhouette. The posts were rough sawn so Fleur sanded them to get rid of the worst of the splinters. Make sure you wipe off any sanding dusts. Prime the top 1.5m with Resene Quick Dry.

Step 2
Start painting your design with Resene testpots. Fleur painted the top of each post with her kids’ favourite fruit – pineapple, pear and strawberry.

Step 3
Continue painting on more design features. Fleur painted three generic faces to symbolise familial similarities, but changed the colour of the eyes as each of her three kids have different eye colours.

Step 4
Choose motifs to paint. Fleur chose a motif that represented each of her kids’ favourite things – playing guitar, aeroplanes and reading.

Step 5
To finish, let loose on the paint colours – have fun experimenting with different colour combinations, patterns and scale. Use a variety of spots, stripes and simple and complex patterns to create a myriad of colour.

Step 6
Stain the bottom 90cm with Resene Woodsman Wood Oil Stain in Resene Pitch Black.