Thrifty Decor Chick

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We covered it for the winter and I knew I could address it when the weather got nicer. The original stain and finish were almost completely gone: 

So on a nice day recently I decided to get after it. It didn’t take long at all to sand it down — I used my Bosch sander with a 220 grit sandpaper: 

The stain came off easily because it was such a mess. 

I did this late one evening and it got dark, so I had to leave it. My plan was to restain it and then protective urethane. 

But a funny accident happened — it rained the next day, and when I looked out at the wood while it was wet, it looked SO pretty. It was then that I knew I’d just protect the wood instead of staining. 

I did two coats — the instructions called for a brush, but I prefer using a foam brush for products like this: 

The only problem is, they don’t hold up great and fall apart quickly. For the second coat I used a brush. They both work well, but I will say it was easier with the brush to really get the coats on there well. 

You can see how it warmed up the wood: 

I let it dry for the time instructed, then sanded it down with a fine grit sandpaper very quickly — just to get any raised texture off. After that I added one more coat and let that dry. 

It turned out SO beautifully! We love it!:

It’s exactly how I wanted it to look from the beginning! The wood is in really good condition, so I was happy to save this table. 

I brought out some pretty stuff and styled it for a quick shoot. (I’ll share all of the sources at the bottom of the post). 

This is a better look at the finish in the shade: 

I’m so pleased with how it turned out! I’m looking forward to sitting outside this summer in our little outdoor sanctuary: 

We LOVE this patio and use it so often! I can’t wait to add more trees and plants out here: 

If you have a real wood table (inside or out) that needs refinishing — a quick sanding job should take care of it! You can do another stain or just use a protective coat like I did. 🙂

Now we know to get this thing covered before any snow this year! But I can continue to refinish it for years as long as the wood is still looking good.

You can find most of the items pictured below — let me know if you have questions about anything.

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