A year ago, Cory and I were spending our first summer in our college town. We were renting a little house just two blocks from campus. It had a big yard for Lucy and a charming kitchen with a big old sink for me (and a spot for Cory’s beloved recliner). Typically, we would be heading back to our parent’s houses that time of year. That summer, however, I landed a job following graduation and we decided to stay. Since I was working and driving all around, I started to find my way beyond the 3 streets surrounding campus. We took trips to the farmer’s market and waved to our neighbors. For the past few years, we had been running (sometimes literally) to class. I usually had my head buried in a pile of disorganized flashcards, attempting to memorize the last 3 symptoms of some psychological disorder or another. Amazingly, I was never hit by a car. Cory and I also found time to sit on our front porch, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
This particular Saturday, we noticed one of our neighbors setting up for a yard sale. I dragged Cory across the street, along with my love for all things once treasured. First, I picked up a little yellow vase. Then, an adorable, handmade, knitted blanket. I spotted some old perfume bottles that I would have snatched up if the bottles had been unique and pretty. Unfortunately, they weren’t really and Cory thought it would be especially weird to have “some old lady’s” perfume bottles in our house. I agreed.
Then we spotted it. A big red, (and I mean red, red) picnic table. We loved it immediately. We had lived in our house nearly a year, had a patio but no patio furniture. The paint on the table was chipping but I wasn’t afraid of a little painting project. It was very sturdy and in great shape. I asked the man sitting by the cash box how much he would like for the lovely table. He said $12 for everything, including the blanket and yellow vase I was holding. He added that we could only have the table if we promised to take everything on top of it. It was a “but wait, there’s more” moment. Who needs “as seen on TV” when there’s a yard sale across the street? There were 12 terracotta pots on sitting atop the picnic table, so we carried them, the blanket and the little vase home. Later that afternoon, we went back to pick up the table (it was prime seating during the yard sale, you see).
A few weeks following the yard sale, Cory scored the perfect paid internship near our family and friends, so, we packed up and headed up the interstate. The red picnic table followed behind, tucked beside Rubbermaid bins full of books, picture frames and teacups (the recliner, had a spot too, in case you were wondering ;-)).
So that’s the story of how we acquired our little table. Now for the makeover!
For starters the table was in MAJOR need of a good sanding.
For my birthday I asked for an electric sander (with this project in mind) and Grandma came through!
Sanding took A LOT longer than expected. There must have been at least 2,001 layers of paint on this bad boy.
Cory reinforced the benches with a couple of screws.
After we finished sanding and sanding some more, I hosed off the table to remove all the dust and remaining chipped paint.
You can really see all the layers of paint in this image. What do ya think of that old blueish green layer?
It's been rainy and thunder-stormy here. Cory and I plan to paint the table as soon as the sun comes out. So, stay tuned!
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