It’s backyard barbecue season! The days are longer, the air is warmer, and people are spilling into the streets and filling up patios, cold drinks in hand.
And then there’s your backyard. An empty patch of grass with a few lonely patio chairs scattered around. Can you say basic?
Upcycled Chic for the Patio
If you want to infuse your long summer nights with some one-of-a-kind backyard chic, look no further. Some ingenious soul took a battered up old drawer and combined it with the legs from an old coffee table. The result: a fabulous vintage-looking outdoor patio table perfect for holding plants, candles, or — yes — cold bevvies.
Create Your Unique Patio Table
Step 1: Select the drawer of your choice. Wash it as needed, remove the knobs, and use sandpaper to prepare the surface for painting.
Step 2: Screw some wood pieces underneath the drawer to reinforce the drawer bottom. This will help ensure you have a substantial surface for attaching the legs and keeping the table stable.
Step 3: Use a few coats of paint to give the drawer a fresh face-lift. You score bonus points if you can use paint you already have lurking in your garage!
Proper outdoor paint helps ensure your table keeps on looking good for years, but plain old latex indoor paint will wear and peel, giving your little table an awesome weathered look in no time. I tend to prefer this battered style, but I think that’s because, with a toddler, everything in my life ends up looking pretty beat up anyway so I’ve decided that I may as well make it look intentional!
Step 4: If you’re repurposing table legs from some other piece of furniture, refinish or paint them as desired. Or, if you’re making your own, measure and cut the wood and paint — or leave them natural if you prefer. Then, attach the legs to the drawer. This YouTube video by Guidecentral English shows you how.
Step 5: Screw back on the knobs — or attach ones you like better, or none at all! Adorn your table as you desire with glass pebbles, seashells, or any other additions your creativity dictates.
And that’s it! An adorable, DIY patio table that is absolutely perfect for holding citronella candles, or, you know, the perfect mojito. If you’re into that sort of thing.
Long live summer!
Imagery and inspiration courtesy of Chrome Skies
Editor’s note: Originally published on July 21, 2015, this article was updated in July 2019.