Project Rescue Patio Furniture

Top of my list for some time has been to either buy some new patio dining furniture or else somehow "restore" my current back to good use - main problem with it was that the table top had rotted to a spongy moldy wooden mess:

While initially, I just figured I would either buy new or buy secondhand (preferably secondhand - better for the environment), the more I looked, the less I saw that I was interested in.  It appears that most patio furniture these days comes in the colour black! I live in the tropics in a quirky little 1950s bunker of a house, I don't want black!

So, I started leaning towards replacing the wood.  And the second I made that decision I felt at peace.  I really, really love this 1950's outdoor dining set.  And I know it is on it's last legs (Key West air eats through metal) but if I can get a couple more years out of it I will be happy.  Side note.  If you look online at these dining sets, fully restored, they are selling for $800/$900!

On Sunday morning we drove to Manley DeBoer lumber yard and secured the plywood needed.  Yep, it's just plywood...that has been pressure treated so is good to use outdoors.  It is BC Birch and after tax etc came to the princely sum of $96.  

It was a little bit bigger than I needed so was nice of our neighbor Brian to help cut it to size.

Really easy to remove via screws underneath and really easy to screw back on too

Et, voila!

Looks just like a cheapy bit of plywood on a frame doesn't it?!

Well (a) my next plan is to get a nice table cloth to use whenever we are eating on it

And (b) I went to my favourite "Artist formerly known as an Architect" Pigsy, for some colour advice if I was to stain it.

He suggested a nice light pale white-wash.  Pigsy knows his colours, I tell you!

Now, voila!

Doesn't that look much better???  Kind've beachy and distressed/faded from the sun look about it?!

So happy with it!  

Just need to order that table cloth now

In other, not so nice news, aka Things Always Break in Key West, the outdoor shower had gone completely kaput. I ordered a fancy new one on Amazon but during installation have realised that the problem is much bigger than I thought.  The connection to the waterline seems to have become disconnected/broken.  I think we are going to have to chase in to the wall to repair it so at this point I think it is a Call a Plumber job :(

Edited on May 27 to add:

My tablecloth and runner! Finally ordered and finally arrived!