Front Porch and Checkerboard Table

It's a beautiful day out here in the sticks.  NO WIND!  Hip Hip Hurray.  That means it's a great day to get out on the front porch and finish my latest project.

Front porch at the Cabin

I love sitting out on the screened in front porch and watching the deer eat out in the alfalfa field or just rocking the day away out there.  We used garage sale money to purchase the chairs at Cracker Barrel last year.  We found them 1/2 price and couldn't resist filling up the porch. They are heavy enough to withstand the western Kansas wind and are very comfy. 

Patio Table from Lowe's

Once the chairs were in place, we needed tables.  I purchased  an outdoor table at Lowe's for about 40 bucks last year and decided that would do until I came up with a better plan.  I really wish I would have saved my money and looked at the local flea market first, but live and learn..

I found these table, which are about 24x 24, at the flea market.  They weren't together and one was priced 15 dollars and the other 20 dollars.  My husband was able to talk them into giving us both for 30 dollars.

I lightly sanded them and had to primer them.  I learned in this process to buy the better primer.  Those stains on the oak table kept bleeding through the 2 coats of primer.  Once we went and visited with the lady at the paint store we were able to purchase a water based primer that actually worked.  Lesson learned on that one.

I painted both of the tables white to match the rocking chairs, but I wanted to put a checkerboard on one of them so I taped out the checkerboard on the "problem table" very easily with my quilting ruler and got to painting. 

 I didn't go with traditional red and black. Mine is brown and barn red.  After I painted the checkerboard I covered the top with a couple coats of clear acrylic to protect it and shine it up a bit.

Checkerboard Table

To finish the project today, I'll need to cut some checkers out of some old sticks and paint them.  I purchased an old military map carrier from an antique store to hold the checkers.  I'll post the end of this project when it's complete.  lol 

For now, I have two great tables for the price of one.  Lesson Learned!!!

Happy Spring,

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