I’m SO excited to have finished this huge project!

May I present to you, my first -ever- build:

Outdoor Loveseat Glider!

This is what the frame looks like, sans cushions and pillows! Notice it is built entirely from 2x4s! You can use just plain pine 2x4s, but we used weather-treated cedar stained pine, after which I stained dark walnut.

As you can see, the main design was adapted from Ana White’s outdoor sofa plans that were posted this summer on Ryobi Nation.

After Haven Conference in July, and meeting all the awesome Ryobi people, I knew I wanted to build something soon. When Ryobi told us about a contest for Haven attendees, with several prizes, it was just the motivation I needed to get crackin’.

So I called my good friend who also happens to love building and DIY, Kim. She and I studied Ana White’s plan and thought up of ways to modify it to make it unique. We came up with the idea of converting the sofa into a glider using Rockler’s glider hardware. The sofa plans are quite large, so it didn’t take long for us to decide it needed to be a loveseat instead. Kim drew up our basic plans with rough measurements and we went to Home Depot to get our supplies!

We bought for each loveseat:

10, 10′ WeatherShield 2x4s in cedar stain

Box of 2 1/2″ exterior screws

Box of 2 1/2″ Kreg pocket hole screws

Glider Brackets, set of 4 (from Rockler)

4, 3 1/2″ long 1/4-20 bolts

4, 4″ long 1/4-20 bolts

8 lock-tight 14/-20 nuts

8 washers to fit the above bolts

(optional) wood stain – I used Minxwax Dark Walnut- oil based

The tools we used were:

10″ compound miter saw

Screwdriver/drill

Kreg Jig (for pocket holes)

Nothing too spendy or fancy and our motto throughout the entire building process was,

“It’s an outdoor sofa. It doesn’t have to be perfect!”

I was skeptical that the brackets would be able to support the weight of the heavy seat. But it does! And with ease! The trick is the horizontal spacing on each bracket. At first we drilled holes so the brackets were exactly vertical of one another. Only problem was it barely moved! So, we moved each of them in by 1 inch and it glides so smoothly now!

You have NO IDEA how pleased I am with this project.

It made me realize that I’ve been missing out on so much fun, building other types of furniture!

Now is a good time to buy outdoor cushions if you need them… practically everywhere has them on sale and I got these blue and white ones at Home Depot for 50% off. I through in a couple of my indoor pillows for the picture, just for a pop of color. I might end up sewing some custom size ones next year in a beige color. But for now, these will do!

My partner-in-crime building, Kim, has a gorgeous, huge, white porch with all kinds of space for seating. She dressed her loveseat glider with some cute, bright pillows and cushions, and it looks so lovely here, doesn’t it?! Makes me wish summer was lasting longer… 🙁

 

I would say the best part of fall approaching (besides wearing layers and jackets again) is the mums. They are such a bright spot of happy!

So what do you think?

I’m submitting this project to Ryobi Nation’s Haven Conference Contest for a chance to win $1,000 worth of power tools! Would you please vote for my project? A workshop full of power tools would be a DREAM COME TRUE! It will go live on Tuesday and voting ends on September 30th. The most votes wins!

I will provide a link as soon as it goes live, on my Facebook page, so make sure you stayed tuned and follow along!

Happy Labor Day weekend!