Outdoor pallet sofa

From Inspiration to Action

Finding cool ideas on Pinterest is fun and addicting, but actually bringing that idea to life is even more rewarding!

Let’s be honest about all these hours spent on social media scrolling through the feed, getting inspired and pinning ideas, but how long does it take to take an action and make your dream come true?

Dreams don’t work unless you do!

Well, after almost 5 years of living in our house and using just two chairs and a small outdoor coffee table that we bought for our balcony back when we were renting, it was time for a change!

I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on outdoor furniture, so first I turned to Facebook Marketplace. After a few months of trying to find the perfect set, I just gave up on the idea of it and decided to make my own furniture!

Pallet Furniture: The Game-Changer

I loved a lot of ideas that I found on Pinterest, but it was hard to decide: Should I go get the cinder blocks and 4 by 4, or buy some quality wood and start a big project?

I wanted something quick and simple, that wouldn’t require a big investment of time or money. And Universe ( or maybe just the algorithm of Pinterest) led me to …

Pallet Furniture!!!

It’s simple, easy to make, and just what I’ve been searching for!

Designing the Dream

My husband was able to find 6 pallets that we could work with so we began to think about the design. At first we were talking about a loveseat but then agreed that with a toddler that constantly wants to be us it won’t be enough. So, sectional, it is!

To create a seating area(or a base of the couch) we just stack one pallet on top of another one and did the same for the second half but turned it sideways to create an L-shape.

Details and finishing touches

As for the back support, we attached the other two pallets to the base but we had to cut one of the pallets a little bit to make it look good. On top of these back pallets we added a 1 by 4 to create a finished look and to have kind of a little shelf for plants, toys or coffee mugs.

Of course our little one wanted to help, so here’s her testing the couch!

Oh, I forgot to mention that we sanded some boards to make sure there are no rough edges ‘cause nobody likes splinters.

The cushion quest: a creative solution

After finishing building this sectional we had another big puzzle to solve: getting the right seat cushions!

It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. All the retailers that I went to had the standard size cushions and they were all too small for this couch.

So after considering different options, I was ready to order some foam and make my own cushions. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any local stores that sell high density foam, so I had to order online.

But again I had to work with the sizing issue and the whole idea was becoming more expensive than I anticipated.

I took a few days off to think about what we can do and luckily one of the blogs from Germany had mentioned that they used a crib mattress for their project.

I immediately jumped on Facebook Marketplace and was able to find two mattresses for $10/each. I couldn’t stop smiling! These mattresses are waterproof and almost perfect in terms of size!

Merry and bright

That was another step to go through before I could finish this big little project. So I decided to check our local Walmart and see if they had any outdoor fabric options.

And luckily for me they did! And it was on sale! So I got 5 different patterns to create a colorful and cheerful place for us!

After laying everything on the floor, measuring, cutting, sewing and doing all of that again and again, I was finally able to finish our new outdoor seating area. 

Bring Your Vision to Life

I also built an outdoor table to go with the couch, so the sitting area was complete and ready for our morning talks, afternoon reads and cat naps 🙂

I hope you get inspired and decide to bring your vision to life!

Be creative and let your days be dreamy!

Hugs, 

Hanna