One of the best features of the house we’re renting is the adorable patio space in the backyard. As soon as we saw this space for the first time, I could imagine myself spending lots of evenings out there enjoying mojitos! We haven’t had an outdoor space for more than four years, so we were really excited to start decorating and enjoying this part of our new home.

Moving is not all that cheap and we are always more interested in spending our money on experiences and memories rather than tangible things, so I had a specific budget in mind when planning out the decor for the patio. You can see some of my inspiration here, if you’re interested.

Our patio dining set came from IKEA (I’ll share that another time!), but I wanted a little sitting area in addition to the main table. We bought two faux adirondack chairs from Target (where else??) and I decided to DIY a little table for my drinks and a citronella candle or two. Similar tables seem to be anywhere from $200-400 online, but my table only cost me $30!

I actually got the idea for the table while walking around in Five Below! I saw they had these little metal stools that I knew would be super easy to attach a table top to. Of course, they were really random colors (hot pink and purple!) but that’s nothing a couple coats of spray paint can’t fix.

I went with a matte black paint since I was going for an industrial feel for my table. If you’re making your own, you could use any color you’d like!

Once the stool was painted, I gathered the rest of my tools…namely, the drill, wood screws, and a drill bit. If you’re drilling into wood, be sure to get a drill bit that’s a little bit smaller in circumference than your screws so that the screws have something to anchor to when you screw them in.

I screwed the tabletop to the table through the little holes on the top of the table. I didn’t bother to spray paint the underside of the table because, well, I’m kind of lazy like that…and, who’s going to see it? That’s right, no one. At least not besides anyone who’s reading this post. ha!!

One step that’s not photographed (I forgot!) is coating the wood slice with polyurethane. I chose a spray poly for convenience (see above-mentioned laziness), and sprayed several coats all over it to protect it. If you are using the table indoors, you might not need poly, but if you’re doing an outdoor table, you’ll definitely want to protect it from the elements as much as possible by adding polyurethane!

And…tada! Table’s all done and makes the perfect home for my little Anthro zebra and Target lantern. The funky citronella candle is from At Home, if you were curious.

I love how this little table turned out! It’s the perfect place to set a drink while we are relaxing out here with friends! Can’t wait to enjoy it all summer!

Cost for this project:

Metal stool from Five Below: $5
Wood slice (eBay) $18
Materials (wood screws, drill bit, spray paint) $7