Number Fifty-Three: Rustic Wood & Metal Plant Stand

Probably a year or more ago I bought this little metal plant stand at an estate sale. I had actually bought a big piece of furniture and just kind of saw this little table on the way out and had it thrown in.

I was in love with the perfectly aged white metal base. It has just the right amount of chipping, rust and patina that you can really only get with time and age.

The top really was lacking, however. The best way I can describe it is as a piece of thin metal covered in contact paper. Nasty.

So, the other day I was working on cleaning up and decorating our little back porch when I saw the table shoved in the back of the garage. It still had the same nasty top that just completely took away from the beauty of the base.

I decided to update with a piece of scrap wood that we had left over from making our kitchen shelves. I started by cutting it to size (but you could always purchase a piece of wood and have it cut at Home Depot).

Next, to give the wood some age, I hit it with a hammer and wrench (you can see the imperfections below.

I stained the entire piece with General Finishes gel stain in Antique Walnut (my favorite shade) and finished with a coat of poly to protect it.

Lastly, I just simply placed the piece of wood on the top of the table, where the thin metal once was.

This was the easiest project and seriously just took minutes to make, but made such an impact.

By the way, I'm totally obsessed with the entire idea of stained, aged wood with a painted base, and the whole farmhouse type of furniture, plus, I learned how to use my saw, so I kind of think this is just the beginning of projects like this!