Match the ocean blue of the side table -- do the wood slats in high gloss aqua .....

OR for a fresh beachy vibe -- get some white Rustoleum paint and do the metal parts of the little table AND the whole bench .....then add lots of white flowering plants in aqua pots ... and add some summery white chairs from Ikea ....

It depends on whether you want to be serious or not....I actually think it would be fun to be fun and paint the slats in something summery and cheerful, like an aqua, (turquoise) , or orange. IâÂÂd go for the turquoise. You could try a single light coat first, and see what you think. If you didnâÂÂt like it, it wouldnâÂÂt be that hard to recoat in something more serious, like brown.

I'm glad turquoise/aqua is coming up. I thought that would look fun, but wasn't sure about it next to the burgundy shutters.
teacats- Love the white idea!! However, I'm wondering if it would make my house look dirty :) The siding is a cream color....

Your new found bench leans toward traditional, while the table from Target (?) is fairly contemporary, and I'm not sure these two complement one another. I would replace the table with something closer in style to the bench.

I would suggest you simply paint the metal on the bench a dark color using Rustoleum spray paint which is available in a great variety of colors at either HD or Lowes.

Then if you don't want to continuously repaint the wood on the bench, stain it with a darker wood tone stain to eliminate the appearance of the damage to the wood.
Then if you still want a blue accent try adding it with an outdoor rug under your seating area to tie everything together.

I like the look of the wood with the bench, so I'd sand and seal with sikkens for a durable finish. Nice find!

I cant read your whole post because of ads but I saw the part where you say there is no flat or satin dark gray paint to be had. Go to a fireplace store and get a can of Stove Bright paint....we sprayed our fireplace doors a dark, flat charcoal color and they look brand new. And the paint is very forgiving if you mess up....just not sure how it would hold up to the elements if you live in a cold climate and leave the furniture out all year.

You don't need special paint for metal. Most of the Rustoleum paints indicate on the can that you can apply them to metal. The fireplace paint mentioned above is for paint that will be subjected to high temps. You don't need that for your bench.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rustoleum spray paints

Thanks for the feedback! I know I don't need a special paint per se... I was actually trying to stick to the Rustoleum Universal because I've used it before with good results. However, they don't have a flat dark gray. The dark steel color that the link goes to is their metallic universal. For this bench, I don't want a glittery/shiny look that those paints give. Their flat metallic ones come in iron, chestnut and nickel. It's looking like I will have to stick to black or white, but I will explore the spray paint section today. Might have to branch out from Rustoleum.

bev- Thanks for the input. I know it's a traditional bench, but we are not traditional people. I want to do something fun with it to bring it out of that traditional realm.