Card Table Rehab

Isn't this little card table so bright and cheery?

I've been wanting a card table for a while.  Not enough that I was going to go out and buy a brand new one, but enough that I've been keeping my eye out for a free one that someone wanted to give away.  Enter this little number....

You betcha, this card table was in someone's trash pile, and I stopped and picked it up...with a ten foot pole.  I didn't take a picture before I ripped the vinyl off the top, but I can tell you: it wasn't pretty.  It had tears in it and dirt all over it.  I still figured I could figure something out :)

It is easy to take apart a card table.  There are a few screws on the underside that attach the top to the frame.  This one was was missing all but 2 of the screws anyway.  (I was able to find suitable replacement screws at the hardware store.)
Once the top was off I ripped off the covering, carefully pulling out as many of the staples as I could that had held the covering on.  Then I got to work on the frame.

I lightly sanded the metal, and then spray painted it black.  Pretty easy, and makes a world of difference!

I picked up some vinyl from the fabric store for the top.  I used my staple gun to secure the vinyl to the top, stretching it tight as I went.  I had to cut out notches for the metal brackets that you use to screw the top to the legs, and carefully fold around the rounded corners.  Just took a few minutes, and looks pretty good!

Here it is all back together.  The top screwed back on to the legs.  So easy to take apart and recover!

Now I've got a fully functional card table - which I am sure will get a ton of use this summer.
Particularly for tea parties...