It's a cute bench. I like that you can see the knots through the blue stain. Though normally I don't care for knotty pine, it's cute on this bench. I think I'd stain the blue parts black after sanding or striping and re-stain the seat in a natural wood tone.

I agree with justgotabme. I'd leave the seat stained. Really cute bench!
Dee

It's a cute bench and if you stain black over the blue, you will lose the rustic look of the wood showing through the stain. Can't it stay blue?
Linda C

I would like to see the seat stay wood, but of course stripped and stained. I think maybe a golden pecan color would look nice. If your home is more contemporary, I'd paint the rest of it black. If it's more traditional, then white.

If it were me, I would first refinish the seat with a wood stain and poly.

Then I would tape off the seat, lightly sand the blue parts and spray paint the blue parts black with a good outdoor spray paint -- maybe put a few coats on it. Here is a Good Housekeeping site that tested outdoor spray paints:

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/renovation/outdoor-spray-paints

It's going to be GORGEOUS!

Paint it black but leave the seat stained. I have some black chairs on my front porch that are always dirty. I keep a rag in a box to wipe down the seats. Very cute bench!

I would paint the whole thing. First, I think the stained seat looks a little too rustic especially if you are painting the rest of it black. Second, from the street or sidewalk you will barely see the seat. Lastly, if you plan on adding pillows or a cushion at some point the seat will be covered. Too much work for a small section.

Is your front door still blue? If so then I'd paint the bench but with it's style I like the color blue it is. If you're going to paint the front door black, then I'd leave the bench as is and freshen it up.

I think it will be much easier for you to go with all black. If you are torn, maybe that will be a deciding factor.

As far as looks, I don't think you could go wrong either way.... (but I would not keep the blue... it has seen better days!)

the fact that the bench shows wear is what makes it so charming.

What a cute bench! I would paint it black, not stain it, because a) I'm lazy and wouldn't want to strip it or sand it down to bare wood, and b) I think the dark knots that look so great bleeding through the blue would just look dirty bleeding through black stain.

I would however strip or sand down the seat unless that dark spot on the right end is a stain of some kind which would show up even more if you restain a golden color. The color of the seat now wouldn't look good with black, IMO.

If it's a stained blotch on the seat, or if you just want to paint the seat, I'd go with a golden tan paint on the seat and the arm rests, and in the grooves of that little design on the seat back. That would look great against the black paint.

Black is going to show all the dust and dirt that is created outside and the piece will always look dirty. I'd stick with the blue and perhaps play up the rustic look by sanding of some of the paint from the edges. I would redo the seat and I'd add a couple of pillows in outdoor fabric.

Black will show dust, but no more so than all the black front doors and shutters that are all the rage now.

I like the blue, but it probably depends on the colors of the OP's front door and trim too.

Marti8a~
my front door is a controversial brilliant blue. There is a thread on it from about a week ago. You can see pics of it and the porch in that thread (Yikes, its bright). The door is new and I love it, but I'm not loving the color I picked so much. It was suggested to try a black bench (some suggested a bench the door color blue). The "spot" on the seat is a large knot in the pine. I've had this bench forever, but it no longer matches my house decor, and has been collecting junk and dust in a spare bedroom. Hopefully I can put it to use outside on the porch. I was having a hard time deciding whether to paint it, because I still love the rustic look of the blue stain. I think I've decided to paint the entire bench black, it'd be a lot less work than trying to stain it black. I do like your idea of painting the seat different, and like your idea of a golden tan, but not sure it would like right with my door. Maybe I could do that little design with the bright blue door paint to add just a touch of color...