We have a lovely back deck at the Frugal Village Homestead–expanded two years ago by the handy and handsome Yankee Bill! On that deck for the last 3 or 4 years has sat a nice patio dinning set I had purchased from Walmart ages and ages ago. I always liked the set because it sat 6 around a rectangular table, like a dining room table. It also had an attractive woven wicker style. Unfortunately this last winter had not been kind and I noticed in the spring that the combination of age and weather had caught up to the table and caused the resin/wicker to start breaking and coming apart.
I hate how disposable our society has become, so I knew I wanted to save this table somehow. The legs and glass were still great, and the chairs still look new. Yankee Bill and I discussed wrapping various materials around the table to replicate the wicker (rope, ribbon, duct tape) and then buying spray paint to paint over the entire thing. It sounded like quite a bit of work, but do-able. I decided to take a better look at the table to decide the best approach. That’s when I noticed it:
The metal underneath the fraying resin/wicker was painted and finished. *lightbulb* Why not just remove the wicker and see how it looked?
We removed the glass top and then the kids and I went to town pulling off the frayed and broken pieces all the way around the table. Viola!
While it might not be quite as good as new, it is certainly close enough. I’ll probably be the only one who ever notices the few imperfections tha were revealed this way–as a matter of fact I’m sure most of our friends and guests will never realize that this isn’t how the table was originally supposed to look.
So, for just a little bit of thought and a few minutes work, my table is back to a serviceable status without paying a cent!
Handy AND Handsome! I AM the Total Package!
😉