Spring is here and it’s the perfect time to spruce up our outdoor space to enjoy the beautiful season! Here is my step-by-step tutorial on how to make your very own patio chairs on a budget.
After we finished our DIY deck back in March, it became even more apparent that we needed more outdoor seating. The only seating we had at the time was a round patio table with 4 chairs. Initially, we looked around for sectionals, but everything we liked was at least $2,500. Then we came across some plans to build your own outdoor sofa from Ana White...for around $50 in lumber! The cushions are the most expensive part of this project, but even so, we were able to build 3 sofas for under $800 total. Here is the original Ana White sofa design that we modeled our sofas after: Ana White Outdoor Sofa Plans It's a great basic design, but I wanted to modify it slightly by adding a couple more 2x4's for extra back support, as well as some 2x2's under the arm rests for more detail. We also built our sofas to the size of our cushions, so we used one less 2x4 on the seat bottom. Our sofa seats ended up being about 23.5" deep. Here's a comparison of the original vs. our sofa: I assumed the most difficult part of this project would actually be finding cushions that we liked in our budget, so we decided to pick out our cushions first & then build the sofas to those specific dimensions. Ideally, I wanted something in the grey family, but the few grey cushions I came across were either too brown, too thin, or too expensive. We ended up going with the IKEA KUNSO cushions in black instead: Here are the dimensions of our cushions: Back cushion dimensions: Width: 24 3/8 " Depth: 17 3/8 " Thickness: 7 1/8 " Bottom cushion dimensions: Width: 24 " Depth: 24 " Thickness: 4 " The entire sofa was built out of pine 2x4's, with the exception of the "X" detail under the arms - which were pine 2x2's. We did not use treated lumber for this project since I planned on staining & sealing the sofas - so we saved a little money by going with regular pine AND the lumber was also not as heavy since it wasn't treated. If you can afford to build with cedar, that is the way to go for outdoor furniture (since we were on a budget we went with pine). My dad helped us build the first sofa, but then we were on our own for the remaining two. Before we added the "X" detail: Another change we made was to the top 2x4 on the back rest - we decided to attach the 2x4 vertically to give the back a little more height and notched out the ends to fit on top of the arm rests: Here are the sofas after we added the 2x2 X detail under the arms: For extra support, we also screwed in two vertical 20" 2x4 supports on the back of each sofa: *UPDATE* Here are some more detailed photos of the back of the sofas from April 2020: Once all three sofas were assembled, I filled the holes with exterior wood filler & gave them a light sanding all over. I focused on the edges - particularly around the arm rests. Next, I gave them all one coat of semi-transparent stain & sealer in the color Pewter by Rustoleum: The stain is subtle in person (and even more difficult to tell the difference in photos), but the stain sort of reminds me of that gray driftwood Restoration Hardware look. I could have done a second coat of stain, but I was honestly exhausted & just wanted to be done. You can see the stain the best in this photo: Ana's original lumber list only calls for (11) 2x4x10' boards, but because of our modifications we ended up needing to buy the following for each sofa: (12) 2x4x10' (1) 2x4x8' (2) 2x2x8' Here is the final approximate cost breakdown: ONE SOFA: $65 lumber + $180 cushions = $245 THREE SOFAS: $195 lumber + $540 cushions = $735 We also spent $37 in stain, so our total cost was about $772 ($735 + $37). Please keep in mind there can be other costs involved depending on what materials, tools, or stains you already have on hand. We already had the screws we needed (mostly 2 1/2" & some 4" galvanized screws), sandpaper, wood glue, and tools - so all we needed to purchase was the lumber & stain. Overall, we love the sofas - they are comfortable & very sturdy! Since I didn't give step by step instructions, please let me know if you have any questions on our building process. We also ended up building an X-base dining table for our new deck as well. I will write a post on how we built that in the near future... Thanks for reading! Mel
Whether you want something modern, rustic, or vintage, all these DIY outdoor chair plans and tutorials provide moments of comfort for years.
Make your own DIY Modern Outdoor Charis on a budget and get the high price look you've always wanted! FREE downloadable PDF plans avaiable.
Dollar Patio Chair Seat Replacement : I have two wicker patio chairs that both decided to come apart around the same time. Instead of trashing the set and buying a new one, I decided to try creating a new base that I could put a pretty cushion over. I stopped at the dollar store and pic…
I upcycled a pair of old beach chairs to give them a colourful makeover. Learn how you can create a pair of these woven beauties for yourself!
After a long winter, the snow finally melted enough to assess the condition of the heavy wrought iron patio set that had remained outdoors. While the chairs l…
The Frida lounge chair is a real eye-catcher for any terrace, designed by Vincent Sheppard, this lounge chair is a statement piece in its own right. With a choice of Natural Untreated Teak or Black Teak frame. The natural teak frame used outdoors will turn into a soft, silvery grey which will contrast beautifully with
I have prepared all the plans and instructions needed for building this product. Now you can make your own arbor. It's easy to do and with these plans it's much cheaper. I've also prepared a list of the materials you'll need, so that you can get them at a DIY store or order online without even leaving the house. I have dimensioned each piece in the plan, so that you can put your pieces together by watching the step-by-step assembly guide or the installation video. p.s. use wood glue to strenghten the screwed points. YOU ARE PURCHASING A DIGITAL FILE ONLY NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE SHIPPED.
Here are some DIY swing bed plans for your porch. Each one of these will help you elevate your outdoor space.
Only saturated colors allowed.
Explore these stamped concrete patio design ideas and see how stamped concrete can transform your outdoor living space.
Stacey shares her DIY patio makeover. She talks about how to redo a small outdoor space. This is also an affordable patio makeover.
