Last summer we were shopping for a patio table. I was having no luck finding something affordable and durable. For our family of six, even the discount department stores didn’t have anything less than $500+. The more expensive options were just too big and bulky for the space in our side yard. I was resigned to spending almost $600 for something I knew wouldn’t hold up over the years. Then, I spotted this set at our local thrift store…
Here’s the table sitting on our someday”patio”- one step at a time-folks!
I swear I took before photos of the chairs, too. I can’t find them so just picture white metal chairs and whitish cushions. The thrift store deal was a table, 6 chairs and an umbrella and base all for $149.99. No doubt, that’s high for donated furniture but I really didn’t want to take a chance of losing what I was looking for. I called Mark, told him I couldn’t pass it up, called another friend to help me haul. Three trips later-this thing and it’s accessories were sitting in my yard.
If it hadn’t been for my discovery and obsession with DIY posts like this at Centsational Girl, and this at Thrifty Decor Chick and many, many more creative blogs, I would have never given this tired and slightly skeevy patio set a second look.
I just never would have known that you could actually spray paint some old metal thing to look like something factory-made and just about brand new.
Even Mark was skeptical when I called him and when he came home to see what I had dragged home.
I bought some “hammered bronze” spray paint, enlisted the kids. Suited up (with masks) and had at it.
This is one chair with the plastic arm rests removed.
Another chair disassembled. Only 2 had this different construction-2 pieces-they bounce!
Paint squad
The spray painting part of the project took about 3 days. I was able to remove the tempered glass to get a good shot at the table but everything dried really fast. I applied 2 coats to everything.
Here’s what the set looked like after….
Aww- Come On!
(Did you notice my drab garden table-premakeover in the background?)
What a bargain! I love this table and chairs. It’s perfectly proportioned for the space. Comfortable, durable and almost new looking. As much as I wanted to deal with the cushions, I definitely had to psyche myself up for that project. I’m not a seamstress but, you know what? I finally did those, too and I’ll post about those next week.
Just to be clear… I found the set in the summer of 2009, painted it then and redid the cushions this summer (2010). I’m slow. Check out those thrift stores and PAINT SOMETHING!
I’m linking to these great blogs-check them out!
