Doors open

As I've become a bit more confident with my woodworking and sewing skills (not better mind you, just more confidant), I'm also less patient. I asked my housemate to find an outdoor table for our back deck but then promptly made my own. I knew she was having a hard time finding something affordable and I had this idea for a simple table base with an old door, which we had tucked behind our back stairs. And here is the result. The light blue paint with the aqua benches makes it a little easter egg-y but blue was what I had and I wanted to finish it before this weekend's house guests arrive. I'm thinking I might paint it the same creamy white as the door or maybe red? Not sure yet--it may see a few coats of paint before I decide.

The door as table top is not an entirely foolproof scheme because the panels of the door make for a bumpy surface. It seems that the ridges are about as equally spaced as plates should be though and our maiden meal went without a hitch or a spill. I also dressed up the old wood table (in the background) with some oilcloth and a collection of potted herbs that make the table seem intentional and somehow very better homes and gardens as if we must have our potting station looking lovely and symmetrical.



Oilcloth is really a lovely material, by the way--crisp and firm like paper but more durable and somehow much easier to cut. I found a blue green polka dot print and paired it with some blue gingham to dress up a string of Christmas lights for the outdoor dining arrangement. I cut circles with tiny slits in the centers to push the lights through thinking they might look like little sparkling flowers. They look more like lights with very straight collars--actually very Christmas eve service candle collar now that I think about it. I may try to bunch the circles with those tiny elastic bands people use for a very small amount of hair. I'll post more pictures if they improve.

Oh and the roses are from our front yard, really a miraculous thing--having a mature garden that you did nothing to create--Portland really is the Rose City for a reason. They're everywhere.