upcycled teak patio set

This summer I was on the hunt for a patio set for our backyard. Anything I found at a store that was within my (low) budget, I either didn’t like, was plastic, or too big - so I started looking on Kijiji for a used set that was hopefully solid wood, or something we could re-finish to our liking! We ended up finding a teak table with 4 chairs that was VERY weathered, but showed potential (and the price was right!) and I liked the simple Scandinavian vibe it had, so we picked it up!

Now came the hard part - the photo above shows just how WEATHERED the teak was! The top of the table was the worst, almost white! We had our work cut out for us on the sanding front, but we got to work.

Above, you can see what the table and chairs looked like after we finished sanding! It was nice and smooth again, and ready for oil!

We applied a linseed oil (probably not the world’s greatest choice to seal teak) but teak oil was really expensive and our local hardware store didn’t have any in stock so we just went with it. It isn’t a weather-proof finish, but will protect the wood for now, until we decide if we want to put another coat of something else on it. The furniture will be staying out in the snow all winter, so we figure we’ll have to do a bit of re-finishing next spring to bring it back to life anyway!

I added white seat cushions from Ikea (they magically fit perfectly!) and grey lumbar pillows. Done! I can’t believe how warm and rich the teak looks now that its brought back to its pre-weathered state! I think the set looks great in our backyard, and the whole project was under $200 - big win for me! I also like that we were able to upcycle some furniture that otherwise may have been tossed out.