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Repurposed Side Table into Farmhouse Decor

What do I love more than creating with cast-off finds? Working with my kids! Today I am delighted to say that my youngest son, Mr. O, and I not only grabbed this table off of the curb, but that we did as a mother-son team. woot! Follow along as we show you how this repurposed side table became farmhouse decor.

Curbside Table Before | Falling Apart | Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

THE BACKSTORY

Here how the story goes…we live in Ohio and love to be outdoors, but the winters can be long. However, come early spring it’s still cold, but we do get a random warm day (by warm I mean above 30 degrees). So, when one of those days popped up, we did our family walk around the neighborhood, which also happened to be the day before trash pickup. Now I can bet you know where this is going. tee hee hee.

When we turned the block while I was chatting to my husband, I gasped. I whispered, “There’s spindles!”. JC asked me what I was talking about. I told him to look (while pointing to a neighbor’s trash). He told me it was a piece of junk. I responded, “But those spindles…” Gotta love me, right?!

We kept on walking and the next morning; I told Mr. O that he should come with me to grab this #trashure potential. He was an eager beaver! It had been a while since we had worked on something together. You can see his past projects here.

PICKUP

I hopped out of our truck and put it in the back, and we quickly headed home. Once home, I brought it out and set it on the driveway. There it be.

Broken Side Table for Repurposed Home Decor | prodigalpieces.com

DIY TIME

I looked at him and he looked at me. I said, “Well, whatcha think?”. He instantly started telling me ideas and I told him that first we needed to take it apart and assess the damage. So, here we are with are potential parts.

Disassembled Side Table for Upcycling | prodigalpieces.com

There really wasn’t a piece we couldn’t use, just a matter of figuring out the right purpose. We sat, picked up, turned over, and analyzed each piece discussing our game plan. The excitement began to build, and we couldn’t wait to get started. Because we were working with particle board and solid wood, we had to choose wisely.

Since we had to work in phases on each, I will share as we went with our repurposed side table, and then show it all to you at the end. I hope you don’t get lost. haha. First, we started with the table top. It had pre-drilled holes, so Mr. O finished the holes all the way through with my drill.

Boy Drilling DIY Tray | prodigalpieces.com

NEXT STEPS

We also measured, marked, and drilled for a couple of handles. Once the holes were drilled, we grabbed a set of wooden knobs from my stash and put them on the bottom. To make it unified, he used a soft white paint. Oh, and if you haven’t guessed yet, we’re turning the top into a footed serving tray.

Kid Painting with Natural, Non-Toxic Dixie Belle Paints | prodigalpieces.com

And of course, what’s a big brother supposed to do when little sister wants to join in the fun too?

Kids Painting Repurposed Tray with Dixie Belle Natural Paints | prodigalpieces.com

He’s so awesome, isn’t he?

PAINT TIME

Okay, so we put two coats of the paint on, letting cure for an hour or so in between. Then, we both decided to add a little fun. Stencils for the win!!

Stenciling Tray with Waverly Stencil on Repurposed Side Table | prodigalpieces.com

You can see this Waverly stencil and how I used it on a dresser in this post.

When the stenciling was dry, we did a topcoat of poly for a long-lasting and durable finish. We’ll show you the end result in a minute. Hang with us!

NEXT

Now for the next project…this time, we took the bottom shelf from our repurposed side table. Then, Mr. O and I went shopping through my stash to get these gems.

Repurposed Side Table Parts for DIY Reclaimed Shelf by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

We have the table shelf cut up, a piece of reclaimed wood, two corbels, and two pegs. If you can envision and coat/towel rack with shelf, you’re good. haha. It didn’t take much to get this put together, but we did have to spray paint the pieces with our favorite Heirloom white in satin.

Then all Mr. O had to do was help me assemble it and we’re good to go.

Boy Using Drill to Make Reclaimed Wood Shelf | prodigalpieces.com

Again, we’ll show you in a minute…hang with us!

LADDER TIME

Next up were the long spindle legs. We both got excited when the idea hit to make a ladder. Again, my awesome #trashure stash comes into play as we pulled out some of my broken garden trellis and cut it up to make a repurposed ladder.

Building Reclaimed Ladder with Cast-off Parts from Repurposed Side Table by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Last, but not least were those little spindle legs. These threw me for a bit because I had so many ideas AND I wanted it to be doable for Mr. O.

Scrap Spindles Before Upcycling from Repurposed Side Table | prodigalpieces.com

We settled on a simple creation that kinda looked like a ladder, but we had more plans for it. We added some scrap wood, and I used my favorite flat gray primer to make it all gel. After that I added some fun. This was my favorite paint for my repurposed changing table cart HERE.

Flat Gray Spray Paint ~ Automotive Primer ~ for Farmhouse Decor | prodigalpieces.com

Well, we just took you on a whirlwind tour of four repurposed side table projects. Are you ready to see them all done? We are!!

THE REVEALS

See if you can find them below…

Farmhouse Style Living Room Filled with Repurposed Home Decor by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Front and center we have our footed serving tray. Mr. O said this was his favorite project of the bunch, and I think it’s easy to see why.

Farmhouse Footed Serving Tray Created from Repurposed Side Table by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

He worked hard on it, and it shows. Plus, he loves the idea of being able to take it into any room of the home and put it to use. Isn’t the stenciling fun?

Farmhouse Serving Tray Centerpiece from Repurposed Side Table by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Then, if you look past the tray, you can see the reclaimed ladder we built.

Repurposed Farmhouse Home Decor from curbside repurposed side table by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

It can be hung or left leaning on the wall to showcase vintage goodness. I like to display my doilies, or towels, or drying herbs. Or, how about hung over a table for funky lighting… you get the idea. So many uses!

Reclaimed Farmhouse Ladder Made from Upcycled Parts by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

LAST

Next, if you look up above that is our cute farmhouse decor. All made from the left over from the spindle feet of the repurposed side table.

Home Sweet Home Farmhouse Sign / Wall Decor from Repurposed Side Table by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

After painting it in gray, we added a piece of hardboard and then some burlap signs on the awesome laminated burlap that makes it easy for sticking in your printer. I love that stuff and we think this came out so cute. Don’t you?

Farmhouse Burlap Wall Art with "Home Sweet Home" Text from Repurposed Side Table by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.comLAST, BUT NOT LEAST

Last, but not least, is our reclaimed shelf. Ta da!

Reclaimed Wood Shelf with His and Hers Typography on Barn Wood from Repurposed Side Table by Larissa & Son of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Mr. O wanted to add some fun typography to the reclaimed barn wood. I asked him to pick from a few phrases and this is what he decided on. Yours truly hand-painted the text on and Mr. O. approved. ♥

Farmhouse Coat Towel Rack with Shelf from Repurposed Side Table by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

His and Hers Towel Rack with Reclaimed Barn Wood from Repurposed Side Table by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Mr. O and I sincerely hope we have inspired you to not only check out your trash on your daily walks (hee hee!), but to see past the obvious brokenness we can so easily see. It’s much like how God sees us compared to how maybe we view ourselves. Or, how we think others view us.

Rustic Farmhouse Decor Made from Repurposed Trash by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

There is nothing but love from our Lord. We just have to choose to see the potential.

Vintage Locker Basket for Farmhouse Decor by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Much to our delight, some of these items are still available for purchase from my shop. Mr. O worked can’t wait to see where his creations end up. It’s a built-in geography lesson (says the homeschooling mama).

  • Magic Linen Beige Waffle Blanket available at Prodigal Pieces | shop.prodigalpieces.com #prodigalpieces #bedding
    Magic Linen Waffle Blanket ~ $130

SHARE

In addition, pin and share our repurposed side table creations to inspire others. It’s what we’re all about. Thanks!

Isn't it amazing how a repurposed side table can be turned into farmhouse decor? Come see how Larissa of Prodigal Pieces and her son get the job done DIY style and share how you can do it too at prodigalpieces.com

Up next, Mr. O’s older sister is going to be showing you how she gave this vintage Art Deco waterfall dresser a complete new look. See what it looks like now HERE.

Vintage Waterfall Dresser Before Makeover by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

To get these DIY tips & tricks in your inbox, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Until next time!

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Also, more Mr. O projects like this repurposed side table:

Clock Face Table from Trashure Finds by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.comKids can DIY! It only takes a bit of time to get kids off their devices and creating their own projects. Come over to see how easy it can be. By Prodigal Pieces | prodiglapieces.com

Comments

  1. Christina in SW FL says

    Good morning! Wow, Larissa, Mr. O and little sister did a great job recreating treasures from this trashure. 🙂

    • Larissa says

      Morning! Thank you. To be honest, Mr. O and I did the work, whereas little sis only painted a foot. (he would want me to say so…hahaha)

  2. Debrashoppeno5 says

    I have a similar table that is clean and ready to be painted. Now I want to do what you did. All of the projects came out great

    • Larissa says

      Thanks! Can’t wait to see what you do with it. 😀

  3. Martha E Felgar says

    It is so nice to see you setting a good example of “hard work”, which is really the basis of a good family relationship and contentment for young ones. Good for you…………and your children.

  4. Raylene DeSanto says

    Larissa, your projects always amaze me! You are so talented and I love how you are passing on your creativity and values to your children from a young age. God bless you!

    • Larissa says

      I have the best apprentices and they make it fun to share what I’m passionate about. Thank you for the smile. 😀

  5. Cecilia says

    Good job, Mr. O! Larissa, I love how you’re teaching your children, not only how to reuse things, but to think outside the box as well. My favorite piece would have to be the small spindle project. Love it! The tray is a close second though.

    • Larissa says

      He says, Thanks!! It’s all I can do to keep him busy. He just love creating on a daily basis. Wonder where he gets it from… hahaha…

  6. Edna says

    I have seen you paint words on screen and burlap; what paint do you use? Brushes? And do you spray something after to keep it safe while cleaning?

    • Larissa says

      These are printable burlap sheets I just use in my printer. You can use a matte spray poly if you feel you need to.

  7. Kimberly says

    What a great job and a great lesson in repurposing. Incidentally, I also found one of these little tables in the trash and when I saw it all I could see was SPINDLES!!

    • Larissa says

      How funny!! So cool that you found one too. Must be a thing… 🙂

  8. Marie says

    Sitting here in awe. If only your neighbor could see how far their little table went instead of the trash. The multiple lessons you are teaching Mr. O and the others is priceless, Larissa. Looking forward to seeing the waterfall dresser makeover next week.

    • Larissa says

      We had such fun!! This was fantastic for both of us. Thanks so much for the love, Marie.

  9. Mary says

    Larissa this is so resourceful of Mr. O. I cannot believe he came up with three different project. You are doing good mama!!

  10. Kaycee says

    What a fantastic job Mr. O did on all 4 projects! I really liked the stenciled tray. The help from his little Sister was just the sweetest!

  11. April says

    Love how everything turned out, you guys did a great job! My favorite is the ladder♥

  12. Bonnie says

    Such a great job on all four projects, I don’t know which I like best. Tell Mr O he is doing a awesome job. I started taking my youngens to yard sales when they were in their carriers lol. Women would look at me and say boy you must really love yard sales. What a great job you are at setting so many examples for your kids. We need more Moms like you!

  13. Susan says

    How I wish we had just A trash day. Our small city (150K during school year) doesn’t do trash pickup, so everyone contracts individually with a trash company. So there is no single trash day. They are all on different day and husband gets a little cranky if I take his truck out trolling for curbside finds 🙂 But sometimes I can find something. I stopped in a snowstorm the other day and picked up two metal dining room chairs. They are black metal…for now. Probably be painted white and cushions definitely be recovered. My husband has promised to make me a dining table…probably a drop leaf style (cramped, weird) kitchen/breakfast area. He is an artisan cabinetmaker so maybe I can finally get a couple of pieces from him.

    • Larissa says

      Oooh… I hope you get one. Sounds like you scored good and it is so fun to find those prizes that give back in so many ways. First, you get the benefit of someone leaving something behind, you are saving it from the landfill, and are putting it back into use. Win-Win

  14. Kay says

    It makes my heart happy to know that you are helping your children learn the skill of making something form curbside finds and other leftovers. What a wonderful teacher you are, Congrats! When my granddaughter was three, I walked into my garage where my daughter and I (mostly her) were building a set of shelves to go in my kitchen and found the three year old drilling holes in two pieces of wood stacked together, then hammering nails into those holes. She didn’t know what she was building, but she was happy and proud of what she had done My daughter has simply shown her how to use the tools, expressing the cautions and let her proceed. Such valuable lessons!

    • Larissa says

      What a wonderful mother to let her explore. I do the same with my kids and to see their smiles from ear to ear are amazing. Enjoy!

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