Easy DIY to give a rustic touch to a dying teak outdoor table

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This teak outdoor table was free, but I was able to breathe new life into it with this EASY rustic DIY.

I am all about free furniture, but I am the worst about driving around the night before trash day scouting out the goods. This time, I just happened to be on Facebook at the right time when someone listed this teak outdoor table for free on one of the mom swap sites. She had me at “free furniture” and I immediately responded “me”!

Once I got the table home, I could tell why it was free. I still had hope.

MIND YOU, we are nowhere near having our back yard ready to host any outdoor parties, let alone eat dinner out there with just ourselves. Free outdoor teak tables don’t come around that often, not that I’ve really been paying attention, but I didn’t want to leave it to chance. My girls and I had literally just pulled into the driveway when the lady messaged me her address and after a little bit of bribery, off we went!

The second we pulled up I could immediately tell why it was free, but in true “Lord of the Rings” fashion, I got my precious into the back of my Highlander. Even if it meant that the girls had to ride unsecured in the back with the icky table. #sorrynotsorry The riding in the back of the SUV part actually wasn’t hard to convince them to do and as a matter of fact, my oldest who could have sat upfront with me actually chose to sit in the back with her sister. The not so cool part came from them trying to kill spiders who had also hitched a ride with our new piece. Whoops.

The table legs were too badly discolored to leave in their natural state.

I got her home, did some research, and it was on!

Clean: I gave her a really good power wash and it did take off a lot of the dirt and grime. Much like my kids this summer, not quite sure when the last time she was washed off. (Wish I was joking, but going to the pool can only count so many times.)
Teak Oil: From my research, teak furniture needs a little TLC from time to time to restore the wood and this is where teak oil comes in. Which I’m not sure if it was the kind that I got, but once it was applied, it reminded me of more of a polyurethane than an oil. Could be that this was my first experience with teak oil and that’s how it really is supposed to be.
Took a poll and decided that maybe the best way to save this project was to paint the legs white.

In doing the teak oil, I was all up in that table’s business when I realized her legs had seen better days and teak oil may not be her saving grace. I did a little pole on my Instagram stories and everyone agreed that I should paint the bottom and leave the top natural.

Paint and Protect: I painted the bottom white and instantly she looked so glam! (I’m also going to spray the whole thing down with Spar Urethane that’s supposed to protect from all sorts of nature things like the sun, rain, temperature etc.)
After painting the teak table legs white, I immediately knew it was the right decision.

New table who dis??

Then it happened.

Finding this free gem couldn’t have happened at a more perfect time because even though it’s mid July by this point, ALL the stores are gearing up for fall, rude, and marking down their summer items. This meant it was the perfect time to find the table some chairs and not spend a ton of money. Except I couldn’t find anything I liked to match my new fancy friend that still wasn’t expensive or the wrong color.

Even though I loved the white table bottom, I found black chairs that were perfect.

Needless to say she sat all lonely in the garage while I was on a quest to find her some friends to hang out with. I told myself that maybe I needed to just find a chair that I liked that was reasonably priced and stop trying to find a specific color. Wouldn’t you know it, it totally changed my perspective. I found the cutest chairs at Walmart and the price wasn’t too bad, but they were black with a natural woven seat to match the top of the table. No big. I snagged the chairs since they were the last four, if that’s not fate I don’t know what is. When I came home I flipped the table on her back and painted her legs black.

Painting the table legs black gave the teak table a more rustic feel.

While the table top has different color variations, it really pops agains the black bottom.

She. was. stunning!

I can definitely see us having many family dinners out here on our patio.

Our backyard is still a hot mess, more on that at another time, but just like any girl and her selfie, it’s all about how you work the angles.

The chairs I found at Walmart are the perfect fit for the new to me table.

There you have it! I was able to transform the free outdoor teak table with a super easy DIY that didn’t cost me a ton of money and yet it looks very rustic chic!! Aside from the fact that we saved something from possibly going to the landfill, but we now have a place to create some outdoor memories as a family.