Friday, June 29, 2012

Refinishing the Deck Table!




The Cocktail Table on the deck is our favorite gathering place on a summer evening.
We love being able to pull up the chairs and enjoy the view.
It has a built in firepit....but alas....
Mr. S. doesn't think a fire on the deck is a good idea...GO FIGURE!!!
So we drilled a couple of drainage holes and put pots of plants in instead!!!

The poor thing  has been around for more than a few years.
We used to take the tile sections indoors during the winter....but over time we have gotten lazy about that....
Besides....I like to do seasonal arrangements all fall and winter that give us something nice to look at out the kitchen window!


So you can imagine.....given the harsh seasons in Minnesota....the tile was getting "pretty shabby"!

A new table exactly like this one.....is available for as much as we paid for the table AND chairs all those years ago!!!!
Yeah.....and that is JUST what I DON'T want to spend my money on!!!!!




So it was time to get creative!!!! (or I might as well admit it.....CHEAP)


I figured I could refinish this.....
what did I have to lose....
It couldn't look any worse!!!



We had this Gel Stain.....it said on the label: wood, fiberglass, metal and other surfaces....


this was certainly an OTHER surface....


so on it went! 

I was afraid it wouldn't dry and I would have to wipe it off....


but amazingly enough it did the trick.

The gel stain darkened all the sun faded slate as well as the grout.





 Then I did 4 coats of polyurethane over the course of a couple of days.

Take a look at the "lousy" brush I used....
I wanted to avoid the dreaded cleanup and be able to just toss it when I was done!

I got a little worried that Mr. S's mantra of using "a really good brush" for all projects would come back to haunt me....

after 3 coats the table was more than a little rough!!!!




I did a good sanding between the 3rd and 4th coat.....


Smooth as the proverbial "baby bottom"!

So there!




All Done.....and Looking ALMOST  new again!!!!


And hey look....I also figured out a way to have "sort of" a fire on the deck too.....

We can light the gel Fire Pots...
I will take a picture when it gets dark.....if I remember....!

Have a thrifty day!


 

15 comments:

Kathy said...

This looks terrific! We just got a fire pit for my husband for father's day - it was so wonderful with a very small fire and the stars twinkling above!
Love your creative, decorative use for it!
Kathy

NanaDiana said...

Mary- That really did the trick. Who knew it would turn out that great? It looks like a brand new table/firepit now.xo Diana

Gardening with Juanita said...

Looks great you are one smart gal. Love you arrangements.

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I love your fire pit turned planter.

Dee

Teri said...

That is so cute!

aimee said...

Thankyou for linking up i love the idea of using it as a planter and it now looks brand new great tutorial xxx

Raejean said...

I love how you gave your cool table new life! I can see why you wanted to keep it around; it's such a focal point for you deck.

Mixed Kreations said...

Your table turned out really nice. I agree a fire on the deck might not be such a good idea, but turning it into a planter is a great idea. Looks great thanks for sharing this wonderful idea.

Giggles said...

I'm a new follower from the Monday Mingle. I can't wait to jump in head first into all of your posts.

the cape on the corner said...

i love the firepit as mega plant stand. that's awesome!

Lauren said...

You did a GREAT job on that!!! Here through the welcome wednesday hop and a new follower, you have an awesome blog!

Sue said...

Nice transformation of the aging tabletop to get it back to looking new and good idea to turn it into a planter, as well. Visiting from Honey 's party. :-) Sue

Honey at 2805 said...

Nice transformation of the table! What a good idea to use it as a planter when not in use for a fire pit. This would look great at my house! ;)

Thank you for sharing your creativity at Potpourri Friday!

Christine said...

That table is AMAZING!!! Love that you can put a pot in the middle of it and change it up as you please. Very happy that you got to fix it up the way you wanted :)

Thanks for sharing at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality! :)

Celina Anne Vang said...

Thanks for writing. The right tools will make refinishing your wooden deck seem like a breeze.

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