DIY Outdoor Coffee Table

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I’ll use logs for just about anything if it will save me from having to buy something.  We have plenty of logs.

These two pictures show umbrella stands and end tables (so to speak) on the stone area we use as our patio.  I talked about how to make them here.  We’re saving to get a real patio poured someday soon.  But my project for this week was for the front of the house.

   

We recently hung a swing on our front porch, and I felt like we needed a foot rest/coffee table/catch all to go with it.  I looked everywhere for something that would work.  But, I found little I liked, and nothing in the price range I was willing to spend.

So, I decided to make my own--after the fashion of our patio umbrella stands—one that wouldn’t tip over easy or crack with the weight of a boy sitting on it.

This is what I came up with.  My husband cut the log I picked into two equal parts.  Then I took a plank (which I got in the scrap bin at the lumber store) and cut it to the length I wanted.   I rounded and sanded its edges, stained it with cedar stain and finally, screwed it to the logs using really long screws.

The result wasn’t half bad, and I didn’t have to buy a thing!

I’m thinking it will last much longer under my boys’ abuse than one of those cheap little plastic tables.

The height is nice, too.  It’s low enough to put a foot or two up and and still swing a little.   Yet, it’s high enough to set a glass of lemonade or a checker board (or Star Wars figure) on and play.  It will do for us! 

Lucky (our kitty) and her buddies like to lay under it, too.

This post is being linked to the following parties, so don’t forget to see what others are talking about and/or link your own ideas up as well!  I’m looking forward to seeing what you all are up to!