How To Create an Ice Cream Parlor Table You Will Need and Love

by Sue @ Housekaboodle

We made a fun Coastal style Ice Cream Parlor table set I wanted to share. The tabletop was made from scratch and the chairs got a makeover.

how to create an ice cream parlor table you will need and love, home improvement, how to, paint colors, painted furniture

It started with two chairs that I got at a garage sale eons ago. After some use over the years as a vanity chair with round cushion and a platform for dolls and stuffed animals for our daughter, the chairs were in pretty bad shape. For years they have sat in the garage waiting for attention.

I could never bring myself to give the chairs away. They are vintage antique ice cream parlor twisted wrought iron sweetheart chairs. That’s a mouthful name for a chair isn’t it. Anyway, we gave them a makeover in Seaside blue.

Then we had this cute little table and two chairs with a tabletop that was in the worst shape imaginable so we took off the top and created an Ice Cream Parlor table to go with the wrought iron Sweetheart chairs.

Here's a look at my beloved vintage Ice Cream Parlor Sweetheart chairs getting a makeover. The black is where we used Rustoleum Rust Reformer for metal to treat the rust and be ready to paint.

I really wish I had before photos to show you. Here’s the white and the original green color under the white coming through from chipping over the years and where we scuffed sections up with a scuff pad.

Vintage antique ice cream parlor twisted wrought iron sweetheart chairs.

I think they came out great and are ready for a whole new life. I hope you like seeing these two Sweetheart chairs look brand new as much as I do.

I do wish I had the horrid tabletop before photo. This is not much of a before and after show, but I think you get the idea. The table base is fine, it just needed to be cleaned.

How we created the Ice Cream Parlor Set:

We had scraps of treated lumbar sitting around the garage and started to design the new tabletop. We cut about 1-1.2 inch strips with a table saw to make our slat ice cream parlor table. Here I am showing you how we put bolts in between to see how a slat table would look with spaces.

Before painting I recommend to prime and seal each slat for a good base coat before painting.

It was really easy to spray paint the chairs. Don’t be afraid to get a can of Rustoleum for your own project. There are a lot of new colors to choose from now. I encourage anyone considering a project like this to go for it.

The paint colors we used for the Sweetheart chairs and table are Rustoleum American Accents 2x Ultra Cover Spray Paint Gloss in Seaside and Rustoleum Universal Satin All Surface in White.

The table base feet got a nice coat of Seaside blue. I think this made the stand 100% better than the original table.

I had to skip showing you a few steps for the sake of room here. See the whole post with more photos and information below at my blog link.

The chairs on the far right and left are the original chairs for the table. We painted some spa blue sections to tie them in with the Ice Cream Parlor set and chairs creating seating for four.

Ice Cream Parlor Set – Tabletop:

13 Boards

24 inches long

1-1/2 inches wide and 1 inch thick.

3/8 inch spacers between the boards – not necessary.

Makes a 24″ x 24″ table.

The only thing we paid for to do this project was the spray paint.

Good-bye summer. I can’t wait until next year when we can use our new table and chairs out on the patio serving ice cream to the kids.

If you have any questions about this project, please be sure to let me know.

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3 of 24 comments

Valerie on Dec 18, 2016
Love the way this turned out - it really makes me smile!

1 Reply
- Sue @ Housekaboodle on Dec 18, 2016
  You made my day with this comment, thank you very much. I keep looking around for some nice cushions for next summer. Have a nice rest of the weekend Valerie.
  
  1
Cso51108026 on Mar 15, 2023

No, no, just no. The original chairs are NOT right!!! What you did with those darling sweetheart ice cream parlor chairs is PERFECT!!! And I don't even care what kind of table top it had before - you guys are a BRILLIANT!!! I have vintage ice cream parlor stools I've been storing in my shop for years because I don't have a place for them in my house - THIS IS THE USE!!! I've got a matching, glass-table top and I am almost in tears, I'm so happy to think that my grandmother's stools will now find a use again!!! It's a crime they've been stored for so long, but... whaddya do, right? Anyway, I cannot WAIT to make this "THE FEATURE" on my back deck!!! Thank you SO MUCH for the wonderful idea!!! Seriously, I'm so grateful - you made my week!!! ~Chrissie

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