The other day I was riding through a very nice neighborhood and saw a man cleaning out his garage. He had put this table out for garbage day.
As you can see, it was a little sad and rusty, but in the words of the great Linus, "It just needs a little love". So of course I asked the man if he was just going to throw it away and he let me have it! The interesting part was driving home via the interstate with it hanging out of the back of my Honda for 45 minutes. I drove 20 below the speed limit for fear of a pot hole dislodging it...I got a lot of dirty looks!
But I degress! So anyway, I got it home and my husband helped me unload it. The next day I attacked it with a steel brush to knock off some of the loose paint and rust. I coated it with this spray paint to get a hammered look. This was the only thing I had to buy for this project b.t.dub! Oh and I always wear gloves when I spray paint because I always manage to get it all over my trigger finger. They make my hand stink but it's totally worth it!
Now a lot of people said, "Ooh, you can put glass in it". Negative! 1. I'm much too clumsy and prefer to keep glass in the home to a minimum for that reason. 2. I hate cleaning glass, I'd rather dust any day. 3. Glass and metal are too "modern" looking for me. I prefer rustic, natural and imperfection in my decor and, 4. It would cost like 25 dollars to get it cut and this project is supposed to be cheap. Let's face it, that's my gas money! So instead I picked up a pallet for free :). So I took a hammer to the pallet, smacking it around a bit until I had all of my separate pieces
The boards were plenty of wood but weren't thick enough for the "flush" top I wanted. Luckily I had these 1/2 inch thick wood slats that my mom was throwing away and the hubs said, "You could probably find something to do with those" (he knows me so well). They were the perfect size! I cut them down to size and secured them with caulk, easy peasy!
Then comes the fun measurement and sawing part. I did not take a picture of this as my hands were full, but we're all adults here, we get how to measure and cut things :) P.S., I do not handle electric saws, that was my husband's assignment. But if you do, you too are my hero!
Now I really liked the rustic look of this wood, but I wasn't terribly crazy about the contrast of that and the color of the metal. I also wanted to camoflage the bright silver nails I used to secure the boards in spots so I stained it. 
Then, because I'm terribly impatient, I went to the store and when I got back it was ready to put in it's new home! I think it looks perfect on my cross wall (which is a work in progress, still collecting!) and I love it with the wall color. If you love it too, tell me what you think! What would you have done differently? And do you have any curbside finds you turned into treasure? I'd love to hear all about it!
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