An old milk can recycle into an outdoor end table!
My mom recently has been working on her beautiful new deck, adding seating and flowers etc. She picked up four red Adirondack chairs and then commented, “I really need just one little end table!” My brain immediately started turning and it didn’t take it long to land on this old milk can. My mom had mentioned a couple of years ago that she really wanted one of the old milk cans she was sure were lying about the farm. I found one out in the woods one day but it was in such bad shape I didn’t even haul it back to the house.
Fast forward another year when I went to grab a big screen I had spotted between our wood shed and our completely caved in old granary. (I used the screen to build a screen door for our “wood shed” under our staircase.)
I peaked in the old granary for good measure thinking I might be able to salvage a shelf that’s still in there when I saw it: an old milk can! And it looked awesome!
So I carefully went in there to grab it (trying not to fall through the floor and also trying really hard not to hit my head on any of the roof that had fallen in!) The minute I got to the milk can I realized that it was (not surprisingly) 1/4 full of some kind of liquid.
I eyed it for a minute, gave it a little sniff and realized it must have been anti freeze… or something – YUCK! So, without any thought I just tipped it over and dumped it out. To this day I’m not over the horror that came out of it. Honestly, I’m not squeamish, I have never been squeamish, but I just wasn’t prepared for what gushed to my feet:
At least forty very dead, and freakishly well preserved, field mice all tangled together. *shudders….* Eeeeeeeewwwwwwww. I literally proceeded to throw the milk can in the bushes on its top (so it wouldn’t fill with rain water) and ran away from it.
Fast forward over a year later and I went to fetch it, carefully sniffing and trying to decide what to do about getting it rinsed out. I dumped a good portion of mineral spirits in the can and did lots of swishing and then proceeded to hose the whole thing down in the back yard for probably much longer then it needed. Honestly I’m still shuddering, that was SO gross.
Anyway, on to creating an end table out of an old milk can. If you do a search on Pinterest I am by far NOT the first person to do this!
I grabbed some leftover plywood for my base and drew a circle to the size I wanted the top to be using a pen and a piece of string. Then I cut that out with my jigsaw.
Next step was to cut a much smaller circle that would sit inside the opening of the milk can to help hold the table top in place. I just screwed them together, putting the smaller circle in the center of the larger circle.
My mom has always wanted some barn wood from my grandparents’ (her parents) old barn so I thought this would be a perfect project for barn wood. I laid a piece down in the center and screwed it to the table top then cut it off and just kept going until the top was covered.
Then I took my jigsaw and cut the barn wood off in a circle around the whole thing, letting it hang over like a lip a little bit. (I did all of this with the mind that it would be rustic and not at all perfect.)
I lightly sanded everything (top and bottom and all of the edges) to make sure no one would get splinters. I then grabbed some white outdoor acrylic paint I had on hand and painted all of the raw edges and the edges of the plywood so there was no “new” looking wood showing. I also did just a light white dry brush over all of it so the white edges weren’t so stark. I also did a very heavy coat of outdoor polyurethane over the entire thing.
And that’s it guys! It only took me about an hour and a half to put together, an easy project that I think really added some character to her deck! The 555 is my Grandparents’ old milk number so this was once a working milk can as they owned a dairy farm throughout my mom’s childhood. She still talks about her dad getting up at 4:30 every morning to milk the cows. ๐
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I’m Tarah!
It’s been a hell of a ride since I started this blog and renovated and moved into this old farm house back in 2015. I got married, divorced, lost my doggo soul mate, spent two years as a single gal, remodeled everything, threw my back out countless times and was even found by an amazing guy in my own backyard! (The story behind Storyhardt Farm.)
Around here we’re totally fearless when it comes to bettering our home. We love to refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces, build it from scratch and totally renovate anything that needs it! If we can do it – so can you. We’ve got some serious plans for this old farm and, for first time ever, I have a real partner!
This is gonna be so much fun!
You can also find out more about the amazing Grandma behind this blog who moved in to this old farmhouse with my Grandpa nearly 70 years ago!
So very nice….nice memories…thank you for sharing.
Thank you ๐
What a sweet story and cute side table. The milkcan makes the perfect base. Also love those red chairs on either side. Lovely and lively summer spot. Thanks so much for linking to Friday’s Furniture Fix. Susie from The Chelsea Project
Thank you Susie!
Love your milk can side table. I have a milk can in my entry way, just might have to make a side table out of it. What a lovely story and great undertaking. After all those mice, I might have left it.
Bev
Thank you Beverly!
Great idea – and great instructions! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Thank you!!
This is such a fabulous project! I absolutely love your creativity! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Dishing It & Digging It.
Thank you so much Angie!
First of all, this is my first time here and I love your blog. Like, LOVE it.
I am so sorry about your grandma’s but they would be so proud of you and what you are doing is so heartwarming.
They need more people like you in the world.
Second, I have a milk can JUST like this that I blogged about and painted over this past fall. And now I need to make it into a table.
Adding you to my Bloglovin’ feed because your blog stands out from the rest. Thank you for that, by the way.
Oh Kari, you just made my whole week! Thank you so much for your kind comments ๐ My mom, so far, loves her table though she won’t be using it now until spring lol it has about 2 feet of snow on it! But, I was amazed at how cute it turned out ๐
Okay, so that is definitely a gross story! But I love that your mom’s new table has such memories. It’s so rustic and unique. Fantastic job! Thanks so much for linking again at the #happynowlinkup!
Thank you Leslie!
What a GREAT idea! It is the perfect table to tuck between chairs! Thank you for sharing this cleverness at Tuesdays with a Twist! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Thanks Marci!
Thanks for sharing this step-by-step process! I love how your little table turned out! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Holly!
This turned out so well! I have an old milk can from my grandmother in my dining room. You may have inspired me to do the same. Thanks so much for sharing at Merry Monday!
Thank you so much Angela!
Congratulations on being featured this week on Your Inspired Design. Thank you for sharing your talent. Your Inspired Design is open every Thursday so we hope to see you again.
Thank you so much!!!
This is so neat!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thank you!
Love this idea. Now if it would get warm so I can put one up on my porch. Thanks for sharing with us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party this week. Glad you joined us.
Thanks Charlene! I feel absolutely the same way, can’t wait to lose all of this snow so we can enjoy our deck again!
You are brave to have gone back to get the can after finding it that way! I don’t think I could have. The table turned out great and how special that it’s a piece of your mother’s childhood. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Pinning to my Upcycle & Restoration Board.
Thank you Beverly!
Great idea! The can looks wonderful on your moms patio! The mice would have given me the heebie jeebies!
Thanks Pam! I still shudder when I think of it lol!
Oh my gosh I would of jumped out of my skin. My cat is a good hunter & I just about die when he catches a field mouse. Today he brought in a rat through the dog door. At least it was dead. But, it freaked me out. Lol thanks for joining us at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Shared
Hey Theres, yeah I’m really not over lol now, anytime now I see a bucket outside (or anything like that) I creep up on it very suspiciously! Thanks for coming by ๐
This is a totally wonderful idea!
Thank you so much!!
Great re-purpose and upcycle! It looks super pretty. Visiting from Creative Collection party.
Thank you Victoria!!
The milk can is very well done and so fitting for the farm setting. Your Mom must really love it. Its perfect with her gorgeous red chairs.
Thank you Leanna!
I love your “Milk Table” Tarah it is gorgeous ๐
Thank you Amber!!
I love this – I so wish that I could find the cans here in the mountains. The antique stores have some, but charge way too much.
I hear ya! I was looking at milk can prices the last time I was at a flea market and WHOA! Fortunately we happened to have one!
Thanks for the great idea! I have an old milk can, that I have never known what to do with it! Have a great Monday!
Thanks for coming by Natalie!
I love it, great upcycle. Thank you for joining The Really Crafty Link Party this week. Pinned.
Thanks! Have a great weekend!
That is ingenious! #DreamTeam
Thank you Heather!
I have an old milk can that’s been painted. What’s the best way to strip off the paint?
Hi Brenda, a power washer might get it off but just plain old paint stripper should work great!