Porch Table and Chairs

Donna Marie Ledington
by Donna Marie Ledington
3 Materials
$45
10 Days
Easy
When we got married in 2013 my husband had an old Singer treadle sewing machine in the garage that had a broken cabinet and was covered with tools and junk. When we were moving last year he wanted to pitch it and I refused. I told him to take the machine out and save it and the base, but pitch the cabinet. I had plans for the base. I wanted to make a table for our covered back porch.
Positioning the boards
We purchased 3 wood decking boards for the table top. Cut them in half lengthwise to make a 4 foot long table top. We had some leftover pieces from our back walkway project that we ripped to make the cross bars.
Constructing
Hubby is screwing the boards together with short deck screws. I haven't painted the base yet at this point. I used a super duty Rustoleum primer to cover the black and white spray paint we had on hand over that. I was using leftovers and went through several brands getting all the nooks and crannies covered.
Cleaning
Hubby is cleaning all the sawdust and debris so I can start painting.
Painting
I used an exterior paint. Olympic Assure in SW 6213 Halcyon Green. I have a SW paint deck from my painting days so I almost always use a Sherwin Williams color. One quart painted the top and 4 chairs.
Finished
We used 4 stainless steel nuts and bolts to secure the top to the base since it will be outside. I can tell you one thing this table is heavy!
Another angle. The details are so pretty.
Closeup of the base.
Chairs
The farmhouse chairs were an auction find of my husband and his late wife from years ago. The right is the original. Left is partially painted. One was missing a back slat, but it was easily replaced. There were 6 all together knocking around in the basement. All of them were pretty beat up. A few had obvious repairs. On seeing this picture a friend said "Oh no you never paint wood." But these chairs were r..o..u..g..h.. and half of them were already painted white. We have one on our front porch painted a darker blue. 4 for this project and one left over.
Finished
Here is the finished set on the porch. It got used last weekend during a birthday party for my husband. It will be so nice to sit out there in the mornings for breakfast and watch the birdies. The chair pads were purchased from At Home, the home decor store, just in case anyone asks.
Suggested materials:
  • Three 8 ft pressure treated deck boards   (Lowes $15)
  • 1 Qt of Olympic Assure exterior paint   (Lowes $15 (?))
  • 4 stainless steel bolts with matching nuts   (Lowes $4)
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  2 questions
  • Suzann Suzann on Mar 30, 2018

    What is the color of the Olympic paint you used on the chairs?

  • Sli30327402 Sli30327402 on Mar 31, 2018

    Why did you paint the base? The antique glow is the goal in such a project.

    never paint an antique your removing 50 to 70% of the value.

Comments
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3 of 69 comments
  • Diana Deiley Diana Deiley on Jun 26, 2018

    I absolutely love this make over. It's sentimental yet new at the same time. What an awesome creative piece. The color is gorgeous. Enoy.

  • Mike Mike on Nov 27, 2019

    My great grandma had sewing machine

    in 1875 singers old sewing machine

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