Make A Rustic Outdoor Plant Table Using Reclaimed Wood
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The JTS has been hard at work again. He put together an outdoor plant table for me. We actually took apart another table to make this table. Have you heard of robbing Peter to pay Paul? That’s what we did.
Outdoor Plant Table
The table turned out great. It’s perfect to use on the deck, patio, carport, etc. I can see it holding plants or it could be used for entertaining. Perfect for holding a small bucket of drinks, snacks, utensils and other stuff.
This is the table we took apart. I took this photo at my favorite junk shop. You guys know all about the junk shop, don’t you? The table is sitting on it’s side and it’s a little hard to tell anything about it from this photo but it’s very, very, wide. Really not very functional.
I bought the two chairs you see in the background too. I kept the chairs and one of them is sitting on our front porch (you may have seen it in my Christmas porch décor) and the other chair is in the backyard near the workshop.
These things are heavy, heavy……I mean heavy. I can hardly move one of the chairs by myself. I have to drag it around and that’s not easy. You know those park benches you see in people’s yards? They are nothing compared to the chairs and table.
The table has been sitting in the workshop for almost a year. The braces across the middle holding the two ends together were missing. The table would get all whomper jawed when I tried to move it. So it’s set in the shop until I could decide what to do with it.
I bought this iron table base at my favorite junk shop last month. I took it to the workshop and tried various reclaimed pieces of table tops, wood, etc., to see what would work as a new table top. I couldn’t come up with anything until I spotted the whomper jawed table.
I did a bit of measuring and decided the slats from the crazy table would work for the iron base I just bought.
The JTS took the slats off of the old table while working in close quarters since the workshop is packed full of stuff again. The top side of the slats had all kinds of paint splashes, red spray paint, and weird looking stains. I decided the best thing to do was to turn the bottom side of the slats up when we attached them to the new table.
We placed the slats together so they would make the perfect table top then cut pieces of 1×4’s to hold the slats together. The JTS screwed the slats to the 1×4’s.
Then he attached the newly made table top to the four corners of the iron table base using screws. It’s kind of hard drilling through the iron but he got it done.
For the bottom shelf I decided to space the slats out instead of having a solid shelf. The JTS attached them to the two metal braces in the middle of the table base. The only slats he had to cut down were the ones on the back and front of the bottom shelf…just so they would fit into the ell (v of the legs?) of the legs.
The original screw holes in the slats are still there. The table was going to be rustic and I didn’t worry about the extra holes, paint drips from an earlier paint job, or stains. It all adds character to the outdoor plant table. I did clean the wood really well with Simple Green. I left the base as is except for a good cleaning and wax job. Loving the shabby paint.
My next plan is to use the two iron table ends from the other table to make a new table. The tentative plan is to make the table square. It’s not going to be as big as the original one. So stay tuned for that makeover.
I was looking way back at past post and ran across this table…..Industrial Modern. Its the first table we put together and it is still my favorite.
The table will be for sell in my booth. I paid $10 for the table base and I think I paid $60 for the two tables and the whomper jawed table. I will probably price the outdoor plant table at $69 or $79. Who knows if it will sell at that price. I also will pay a 10% commission on the sell price. As you can see there isn’t much money to be made on projects like this.
Lizzy mentioned in the comments that the metal base is an aquarium stand and I’m sure she’s right. We have several other projects we put together using aquarium stands. ….this table with the barnwood top……and this one painted with Black Dog Salvage Paint.
What do you think a table like this would sell for in your area? Leave me a note and as always thanks for being here, Kathy
Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines.
I am quite sure that the metal piece you built the table on is an aquarium stand. What a good idea to make a funky, chippy table with it. You were asking about what we tho’t the table would sell for in our area and it’s hard to say because I think it depends what the venue is. I live in the US in the capital of Michigan, but we are surrounded by farm communities, but I’m not sure how that affects the saleability of the table at various prices. The figures that kept coming to my mind, though, were $40-$50. I know that is low compared to the price you were thinking of asking. It’s just hard to say. I know it wouldn’t go for that much at a garage sale, but in an antique or resale store it would probably go for more. Not sure that that opinion is helpful and it just came to my mind that perhaps I suggested that price because that is what I would pay for it! But I’m not especially well-off, so if I had more money I might pay more! Crazy. I guess you just have to start out with a higher price and if it doesn’t sell mark it down a bit and see what happens. That would be my strategy, I think.
I would certainly WANT to buy it, even if I couldn’t afford the price. It’s a cool piece and I hope you let us know what it sells for!
Yes, We’ve made tables on about 3 or 4 aquarium stands.
Yes, those two lawn chairs with the chippy turquoise paint are perfect!!
I love the two turquoise-y seats!! You are always so creative and filled with unique ideas!
Looks great! The old iron table base looks like an aquarium stand. I have a very similar one for my bearded dragon enclosure. This is good inspiration for what I can do with it down the road. Thanks!
This table is awesome. I love your term “womper Jawed”. It made me laugh. I know exactly what you meant! I love a good furniture mash up. As always, you inspire me to think out of the box. Enjoy it.
Wow! I love this! Great work!