The first fall at our new house, six years ago, I spotted a table on Facebook Marketplace for $10. Naturally, my mind immediately went to: Could I turn an indoor table into an outdoor one?
Turns out, I could – and it worked better than I expected.
The table didn’t come with chairs, which was fine because I already had a set I could use with it, along with an outdoor bench. And for $10, the seller even delivered the table to my house. You really can’t beat that!
Before I started, I did a little Googling to see how other people had tackled similar projects. Then I decided to use what I already had and see what happened.
First, I removed the leaf and sanded the table as well as I could. The legs were painted dark green, and the tabletop was covered with crayon and all kinds of mystery marks from its former life. It definitely wasn’t a table I was going to feel guilty about experimenting on.
Once the sanding was finished, I painted the legs and my existing chairs with Rust-Oleum exterior spray paint. I’ve learned over the years that spray paint can completely change a piece – something I shared more about in Spray Paint Is Your Friend!. For the tabletop, I used several coats of leftover deck stain. I honestly don’t remember the exact brand or color anymore – it was something I already had on hand, so that’s what I used.
And that’s really the beauty of this project. It wasn’t expensive, complicated or precious. It was a $10 Marketplace table, some chairs I already owned and leftover supplies.
For me, the experiment worked! We used the table outdoors for about two years before I eventually moved it back inside after we finished our basement. It now lives in my laundry/gym area – proof that a $10 Marketplace find can have more than one life.
So yes, in my experience, an inexpensive indoor table can absolutely be given a second life outdoors. I probably wouldn’t try it with a valuable piece of furniture, but an older table you no longer need – or a cheap Marketplace find? Absolutely.
Sometimes the best projects start with I wonder if this will work?
Leave a Reply