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2×4 magic. Made from common materials, this little table is surprisingly pretty and practically weatherproof. The cedar will weather to a silvery color, blending nicely with the concrete.

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Here’s another popular project from Fix This Build That (fixthisbuildthat.com), courtesy of Brad Rodriguez. It’s a weather-resistant mashup of cedar and concrete, perfect for outdoor use but nice indoors too, where the waterproof top is perfect for plants.

I built this table in my garage in Portland, Ore., but I had Brad’s excellent online instructions and video to guide me throughout. It was my first time casting concrete for furniture (as opposed to a rough concrete step or fence-post footing), so I read his advice carefully and picked up a few pointers elsewhere, too. Like Brad, I built a pair of these pieces, since two matching side tables look better than one.