The Back Porch: Spray Painting A Yard Sale Table

While living in our apartment, Jordan and I found ourselves longing for space outdoors.  While the apartment we lived in was on the top floor of a large house with a large yard, we never felt comfortable making use of the space outside.  On walks, we would spot people lounging on their porches and practically drool over the thought of having a place to soak in the morning sun, coffee mug in hand, and read a good book.  This desire was probably bordering on covetousness.  But, what can you do?

When we moved into 932, we were in heaven.  Not only did we love the inside of the house, but we loved that we had both a front and a back porch.  There was only one problem.  We had no outdoor furniture.  Ok, there were two problems.  The other problem was that outdoor furniture was way out of our budget.

I decided that I wanted to get a small patio table for the back porch as it felt more like the space we would use for eating, homework, et cetera.  After searching thrift stores for weeks, I was certain that we would just have to save our pennies and wait until next spring or summer.

One morning two weeks ago, we headed over to some friends' house to feed their cat while they were out of town.  (Ok, I need to brag a minute.  Those friends were Charles and Nicki, and they were out of town because they were becoming Ironmen for the second time.)  We spotted a yard sale at their neighbors house and stopped to survey the scene.  Twenty dollars later, we walked away with a really cool oval mirror, an antique banjo-back chair in great condition, four sweet metal chairs, and a small, round, wicker top table.

That's right, folks.  We had outdoor seating.  The chairs cost $2 a piece, and the table cost $7.

For reasons that I think are relatively obvious, I knew I had some work to do.  The table seemed tall and bulky compared to the chairs.  I decided that a change in the table color might do the trick.  

Enter two cans of spray paint.

If you've ever spray painted anything before, you know that it is fast and easy, but that the fumes are nearly intolerable.  If you haven't, and want to, here are a few tips:

• Wear a mask (so many thanks to my wonderful neighbor Henry for letting me borrow hers).  
• Shake the can for about a minute before you start painting and continue to shake it frequently throughout the process.
• Spray on your first coat, wait five minutes, and then add your second coat.  (Some spray paints may require you to wait longer between coats.  Just check the can's directions).  Continue this process until you are satisfied.  
• Give the piece a full 24-48 hours to dry before using it.  It's worth the wait!

The picture below is after two coats.  I ended up doing four as wicker is a bit tricky to get covered.

After the cost of the spray paint, this table cost a whopping $15.  Woot!

 Now, we just need to get some new fabric on the chairs...