Potting Bench Transformation

I found this poor, dilapidated table at a flea market and picked it up for $10.  It looks like it was an old schoolhouse desk – quite sturdy and solid wood.  It needed me!



Here it is after two coats of Celery colored spray paint on the legs & back:



I was looking for a low-cost, “low-curse” solution to making the top both practical and beautiful.  At first I thought I might get a large piece of sheet metal and fold it over the corners.  My father had done a similar project and he said that the edges of the metal were so sharp that it was a challenge to work with.  He suggested getting a piece of plexiglass cut to fit the table.  I’m a “Results Now” kind of girl, though, and so I went to check out those cool new patterned duct tapes they’re selling at the craft stores.

Then, I saw it!  Right below the duct tape was this ultra shiny, aluminum tape that used for air conditioning ducts:



Working with it wasn’t too difficult.  It’s literally “sticky aluminum foil,” so it behaves just  like foil does – if it gets wrinkly and you can smooth it down.  It has a very strong adhesive, though, and was easy to wrap around the edges of the table.



I overlapped each strip about a quarter of an inch and pressed the edges well to smooth out as many wrinkles as I could.  The entire table only used up half of the tape, so now I have some extra to make my son a robot costume!



Isn’t it shiny?  Quite an amazing transformation for a couple of bucks!  I think I’d like to put a white piece of lattice behind it to have a place to hang some baskets and tools.  



The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Metal Top Potting Bench (Old Table $10, Krylon Spray Paint $3.24, Aluminum Tape $3.50)

Total Fake-It Cost: $16.74