Being a person who enjoys being outdoors more than indoors, I knew that I would need a comfortable lounging area for our deck oasis. After pricing outdoor furniture out online, trying to envision different options for our space, and wondering how good the quality would be and if it was worth it without knowing what would arrive on the doorstep, I came to the conclusion that I would build one myself!
First step was to research cushion options. I am going to blog our dining room built in, but if you have followed along over on Instagram, you will have seen that I was blown away by the price of foam and fabric when researching for that project. With this piece being outdoors, it was detrimental to have the correct materials so that they would withstand the Nova Scotia elements. I found an affordable option on the Ikea website and from there, started building plans around these dimensions. All depending on your shopping options in your area and/or your budget, you may need to tweak your plans.
Here are the cushions I purchased. (Seat and back cushions) The great thing about these was that they came with the inserts and the covers! The covers are removable and can be washed easily.
I purchased five of each style cushion for my sectional.
Myself and Daniel then drafted our plans based on these dimensions while also trying to keep the cuts as standard as possible! We used spruce lumber for this project and I applied a stain to ensure it would hold up over time outdoors.
The only lumber you will need for this project are 2x4 boards! We used a total of 21 8FT 2x4's. The cost will vary in lumber right now as the prices have jumped drastically over the last year. Hopefully over time they will return to pre-Covid prices.
This design is pretty basic as you can see from the photos below. Two frames, three arms and the top boards to create the seating. After you have these all assembled, the next step is filling all of the pesky screw holes and prepping for stain.
All of the products to build the sectional and stain it were from Home Hardware. Their Beauti-Tone products are my go to for DIY projects. The first step after wood filling and sanding was to wood condition the lumber. This is a product I recommend doing prior to stain ensuring even application of your stain. I know it may seem like an unnecessary step, I'll admit I used to skip it too, but it is definitely worth the extra time! I wanted to go with a light colored stain to make the furniture feel beachy and natural so I chose the color Golden Larch in a semi transparent finish. didn't the color just turn out perfectly?
I can see lots of relaxing this summer on the deck overlooking the water and I know this will last for years to come!
Supplies List-
Beauti-ToneWood Shield stain (color of choice)
Total cost of supplies- Approx $323.25 (may vary based on supplier, dimensions and products used)
Cushions- Total cost (5 x seat cushions, 5x back cushions) $488.75
Project Cost (approx)- $812.00 CAD
This turned out exactly as I had pictured, and considering the price of goods right now, we still saved hundreds vs. buying sets online!
If you would like a electronic version of the plans, send me an email with your email contact information and I can send them to you.
Happy Building!
-Megs