A Rusty Old Table Revived
One day I was taking a walk at the farm and I spotted this rusty old table….
One day I was taking a walk at the farm and I spotted this rusty old table. Now I must have seen this old thing about a million times, but I had never really “seen” it. I had never seen its potential until now.
When I tried to lift it, the top metal part stayed in my hands while the rest of it fell away. I realized I had my work cut out for me. So I had to take a quick trip to the metal man to reattach the top.
I sanded it down to get rid of all that rust. I got most of it and then painted it my favorite black using spray paint. Two coats later and it looked like this.
The next step was to find a shelf for the bottom. I found some plywood and had it cut to size.
The plywood had some holes on the edges from previous uses, so I decided to go along with it and add some more holes along the edges. 
To give it a little color, I wiped it down with oil and vinegar. I used 2 parts oil and one part vinegar. This cleans the wood and also adds much needed luster. What a difference!
If you have been following me at all you will know that I jokingly refer to myself as “the twine lady”. So to keep with the twine theme and to utilize those holes, I passed twine through them and attached the shelf to the bottom of the table. I was going for a rustic feel.
The last step was to add clear glass for the top shelf.
From this:
To this:
It is far from perfect, the bottom steel is not straight, and the rust would not come all out. But considering that I managed to rescue it from rust purgatory, I think a good deed has been done!
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And that is it for my rusty project. I hope you like it, I am especially proud of this one because it was sure to stay neglected at the farm if I had not spotted the beauty behind the rust.
I cannot express enough how happy I am to have started this blog and to share all of these wonderful ideas and projects with you all.
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You may also like:
The Story of a Dresser
Upcycling the Milk Crate Table
It is always nice to take something that is old and repurpose it. This turned out so nice. Thank you for sharing at Classy Flamingos.
I am so in love with your table! It is gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing at Celebrate It!
You did an awesome job bring new life back into the rusty old table. Its amazing the shine you get with a little oil and vinegar on the plywood. Love the added touch of the twine. Glad you rescued the little table.
HI Mary,
This looks great! I love an upcycle project! Thanks for joining in the fun at Inspire Me Monday! Definitely inspired!
Where did you buy the glass? laura
Laura we had it specially made to fit the top of the table. It was at a local glass maker.
This is such an ‘ugly ducking to gorgeous swan’ makeover! Who knew that rusty old thing had such potential?
Super transformation Mary! And I love that it was homegrown piece! 😉
Hi Mary
Featuring this one on Inspire Me Monday on my blog! laura
Thank you so much Laura.
Happy I found you on Instagram. I have a few friends t h at moved here from Greece. They go back often to visit family and they press their own olive oil and bring me some when they return home. It’s amazing
This project turned out super. Most wouldn’t see how this piece would be made pretty again. Us bloggers know a little elbow grease and paint can work wonders..
Love the added twine..
Cindy
Thank you so much Cindy! I don’t know how much back and forth I’ll be doing for now but I certainly can understand the draw of the beauty that is Greece. Thank you for your kind comment.
Outstanding job, and I especially love how you used twine instead of screws to connect the plywood to the stand.
Thank you Ivory that was a surprise to me as well.
Wow! Amazing! I definitely don’t have the same vision you have Mary. I totally didn’t see such a lovely piece in the “hunk of metal” and probably would have sent it straight to the dump.
I’ve been working on those super powers Mandy. It must be “extra-vision”. Haha!
Well done Mary! Saving the world from landfill, one piece at a time!
Haha! That is my aim Cath!