Give a Metal Work Table a Makeover with Paint
I still love is a good furniture makeover! 8 years ago, I bought a metal table when I was selling at my own “mini-stores” in antique malls waaay back in the day. It was great for display, and you can see in this post how I used it. I noticed that post is from 2012…I’ve been doing this retail thing a really long time! The table has been sitting outside for almost 6 years, and it was time to either give it a clean up, or send it to the scrappers. I knew giving the old metal work table a makeover with paint was a great way to give it new life.
It was perfect for a blank area of our back deck. Our deck is somewhere we spend most of the summer and early fall, and I’ll use it as much as I can until it’s too cold and gross to sit outside (on Wednesday, I’ll be sharing what it looks like with a few fall touches!). I could live on our deck, and someday dream of having a beautiful sunroom/conservatory space for the colder months.
(this post contains affiliate links)
To give the table a new look, used a multi-surface, outdoor paint.I mixed two colors (dark blue and yellow) to get a light apple green. First though, it needed a really, really good scrub-down. It was gross and dirty from sitting outside all of the time.
I used a de-greasing dish soap, and some scrubbed and rinsed until it came clean. After letting it fully dry, it was ready to paint.
Since the surface was a little rough from rust, I painted the table with a brush, and did two coats of paint, letting it dry between coats (If this was something I was super-concerned with the paint not chipping, I would properly prime over the rust.).
Once the paint was completely dry, I hauled it onto the deck and had some fun styling it.
I added some art to the walls, and had some prints made at our local printers for the frames, hung with Command Strips for outdoor use. On top, I added some grocery store apples to a wood bowl. The grass in the fun white vase came from our yard, and the hanging plant is some Creeping Jenny ripped right out of the ground with some potting soil. Man, that stuff will live anywhere! I keep forgetting to water it, and I think it stays alive purely from the humidity in the air. No wonder we can’t kill it, and it’s obnoxious cousin Creeping Charlie in the lawn!
The Painted Metal Work Table is perfect in that corner! It’s just under the eaves, so we can put the couch cushions on it when rain is predicted, so when we are ready to head outside, they are nice and dry for us! And, it’s nice to set food and drinks on as kind of an impromptu bar when guests come over.
Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing the rest of the deck, and on Wednesday, our little porchette decorated for fall.
