As the summer draws near, its quickly becoming patio season here in Arkansas. With COVID-19 still impacting our everyday lives, most of us are spending a lot of extra time at home. Which is the perfect opportunity to spice up that outdoor area you’ve been putting off.
If you're like me, you might be stuck at home and just looking for things to do to keep you busy. So, why not spend some time on a Do It Yourself project that you can enjoy on your patio all summer long.
This week I'll show you a cheap way to make an outdoor couch for the patio. First, you'll want to find a couple of shipping pallets, or more, depending on how high up you want to sit. I found some old ones out back at my parents' house.
Make sure and clean them if they are dirty like mine, a power washer is the best way to get all the dirt off, however, good soap and water should also do the trick also. Wash them a few times then let them sit out and dry.
Next, to make sure the pallets don’t rot, paint them all in a color of your choosing. I sprayed them first in a Kilz coating that prevents mold and mildew, then went to the local hardware store and got a bucket of white paint to coat it. Paint it to your liking, and then once its dry, its time for the fun part.
My couch was super easy to build, I simply stacked two on top of each other and used the wall and railing behind as a support for the back.
A standard pallet is 40 x 48 inches, so the easiest thing to do is to order two 20 x 48 inch outdoor seat cushions and place them together on top of the pallets to cover the entire thing. You can find these online or at any home goods store.
For the back, you can use outdoor couch cushions and lean them against the wall, or other pallets if that what you decided to go with. The thicker the padding the more comfortable. For me, it took 4 large cushions.
Lastly, and my favorite part, find whatever throw pillows you wish to decorate with and add them! Choose your favorite colors or pick colors to adhere to a theme you already have outside.
After you're done, take some pictures to show off how crafty you are to your friends, and then sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice sunset from your new and improved porch.
Covering the patios where you live, I'm 5NEWS meteorologist Dax Clark
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