Repurposing Son's Bedframe

Today, I bought a set of solar lights and placed them throughout the paver patio project, then moved the heavy wrought iron table and chairs (which are really dirty!) into place in the middle section of the patio. I hauled out the umbrella that goes with the set, an item that has stayed in the garage due to the ongoing high winds in my area. George came out to take a looksee, so I asked him to join me for coffee on the new patio ... and stayed out until the solar lights came on.

It's been a long time coming to see the yard landscaped and usable, but it was worth waiting for. The night air has finally cooled off, so it was beautiful outside, rather than too hot. George complimented my hard work and was a gracious guest. If you look at the left side of the photo, you can see him watching me work, one of his life's pleasures, judging by how much time he spends so occupied.

Mia ran around, played with her pull toy and crawled up into my lap. She's not sure what's going on, but she has been keeping a close eye on me since I left her on her own for 10 days.

After our coffee was finished, I showed George how I'm going to repurpose the wood from my son's bed frame to make a new patio table. The slats are going to be screwed to 2 pieces exactly the right length without cutting, then I'm going to add 2 end pieces, which I'll cut down from the existing side pieces. Once that's done, I'll turn the table bottom side up and add legs, which are also conveniently cut to the correct size. I'm not sure what I'll do for chairs, but may find something at Lowe's, perhaps wrought iron benches. I now have my $300 gift cards to spend, shopping that will include a chiminea for the other side of the paver patio.

I don't want to sit the wood table out in the direct sun, which is why I moved the wrought iron onto the paver patio. Whatever sits out there in the open also has to be heavy enough not to blow away, and the wrought iron set is that.

So, there you have it. Somewhere down the line will be a shade cover, but for now, it's looking good in the neighborhood.

NOTE: I went looking for wooden chairs to match the table when it's finished, which means sanding and then painting it to match the backyard landscaping plan. I found some killer teak chairs at Lowe's, but they are $100 bucks a pop, so that's a no-go. I found some black laquer chairs at Target at $75 each, which is still pricey, but more reasonable. I'll do a bit more looking before I buy as I want to have 4 chairs, or 2 arms chairs and 2 benches, because I plan to use this as the food table and the wrought iron set as the lounge furniture. We'll see.