Do-it-yourself garden furniture made of timber

Outdoor recreation with family or friends is a real holiday for those who live in the city. When arranging a country house or dacha, it is necessary not only to think over the interior decoration, but also to make the garden plot itself comfortable and cozy, because it is so nice to organize a picnic for your loved ones or just lie on a sun lounger with your favorite book. Garden furniture in this case is simply irreplaceable. It will make your stay pleasant and comfortable. You can make it yourself - it won’t require much effort and will save money.

Peculiarities

Country furniture carries the same functional load as the items in your apartment. You just have to take into account one important nuance: it must be not only functional, but also practical, since it will be used outdoors. It is this feature that determines the choice of materials for construction - they should not be afraid of water, sun and cold. Let's try to figure out which of the existing materials best meet these requirements.

The upholstered furniture that is in our apartments is undoubtedly more comfortable than solid wooden or metal structures. But placing such products outdoors is impractical. To sit comfortably on a country bench or sofa, simply prepare soft bases or pillows that can be easily removed into the house.

Wooden furniture

This is a classic version of garden furniture that you can make yourself. Wood is a noble and practical option. It is suitable for making almost any item. Tables, chairs, benches and even garden sofas made of wood, with proper care, will serve you faithfully for a single year.

Even a novice craftsman can make a simple bench, but experts in their craft can turn an ordinary picnic table into a real work of art.

Deciding on design and construction

When you plan to create a product yourself, you can come up with an original design and design. It is better to choose projects for making furniture from several options. First look at sites on the Internet, perhaps there will be a suitable kit for implementation there.

Important ! If the materials have already been selected and all that remains is to think through the details, then make a drawing of the future project.

Making furniture yourself has its undeniable advantages.

Garden furniture should be compact and durable enough so that it can be easily stored until the next season, and during relaxation it can withstand temperature changes and humidity.

Wooden items are the most successful solution for arranging an outdoor recreation area.

You can come up with a design option after the product is ready. The main thing is that the table and chairs are in the same style.

Do-it-yourself garden furniture is a good help for developing relevant skills.

Drawings and diagrams

Having decided on the material from which your furniture will be made, you need to think in advance where it will be located and what kind of items you want to make. After all, despite the fact that these are not apartments, you should still determine the optimal size and style for you.

Shop

The simplest and most traditional material here is wood. There are several simple schemes for country shops. You can make seats for them from either boards or solid wood. Based on the diagrams given, you can easily build a comfortable and practical bench or bench of the required size. After completing the assembly, do not forget to treat the wood with a preservative.

As for colors and design, it all depends on your imagination. You can leave clear, laconic lines or cut out graceful curves. The natural pattern of wood is an unchanging classic, so you can only cover it with varnish. But if your idea requires it, then you can easily give it any color.

The simplest version of a table is considered to be a product with four supports (legs) and a solid tabletop. By the way, it can be made from either boards or solid wood. A solid cut of a large tree looks very unusual, and the log itself can be sawn both along and across the trunk.

Often you can see solid tree stumps as a small table. The more impressive its size, the more intricate the pattern the “tabletop” itself will have. The choice of place where the table will be installed is also important. Make sure the surface is level. Otherwise, the tabletop will tilt or the table will wobble.

The base for a country table can also be made of metal - the product will be truly strong and durable. In addition, metal combines very well with wood and wickerwork. But a tabletop made of glass and other fragile materials is completely unsuitable in this case. Firstly, even small drops of rain will be immediately visible on it, and, secondly, it can break even from a slight mechanical impact.

Chaise lounge

It cannot be said that a chaise lounge is the most necessary piece of furniture in the country. But remember your vacation somewhere on the seashore and that pleasant feeling when you, relaxed, lay down on it and basked in the rays of the sun. Creating such an atmosphere at your dacha is a dream that can easily be made into reality.

The benefits of making it yourself

Making furniture yourself has its undeniable advantages. Firstly, this is a noticeable saving on the family budget. Secondly, you can choose an original design option, focusing on your own preferences. Taking into account all the nuances, you can create a table and chairs that are the most comfortable, practical and durable.

Making garden furniture with your own hands is a great leisure activity.

Do-it-yourself garden furniture is a good help for developing relevant skills. You get much more pleasure from thinking through and implementing a project yourself than from buying finished products. At the same time, for the manufacture of furniture you can choose both traditional and unusual materials. A garden table, made by a craftsman at home, looks individual, all details are taken into account so that those who are going on vacation are as comfortable as possible.

You can create both folding furniture and stationary furniture that can be left outside regardless of the season. The first one can be put away for storage or transported on a picnic, since it is compact, lightweight and easy to use.

Garden furniture will be comfortable, beautiful and ergonomic.

How to collect?

In order to make the process of assembling garden furniture as easy as possible, we recommend stocking up on all the necessary tools in advance. Professional jigsaws and planes in stores are quite expensive, so if you plan to assemble one bench and settle down there, then it is not advisable to purchase them for personal use - ask your country neighbors or friends.

Beginners who are planning to master the manufacture of garden furniture should take into account that it is not always possible to do everything perfectly the first time. It is better to stock up on material for future use so that you can replace the damaged part immediately, rather than running to a hardware store.

The process of making furniture will be much easier if you find the necessary instructions or drawing in advance. Once you gain experience, you can easily improvise and create your own unique projects. But in the initial stages, it is better to stick to proven schemes.

Stylish garden chair made of timber.

The working process

In order to make furniture from pallets, wooden products are used. You can easily make a sofa, armchair, or bed from them. This is not the entire scope of their use. This material began to be used relatively recently, and the popularity of such material is rapidly growing.

It is necessary to connect several pallets together. They will serve as a frame for furniture. Then you can put the mattress and pillows. Assembling furniture of this type is quite easy, even those who are doing it for the first time can handle it.

Attention! Wooden pallets also need to be sanded and coated. This way the surface will not leave splinters.

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The most optimal solution when arranging a summer house is the selection of simple drawings and forms. Then the process of making furniture will not be so labor-intensive; every novice craftsman can handle it.

Selection of timber

Which timber is optimal for creating furniture or household utensils? Whole, chamber drying.

Why him?

Timber with natural moisture requires long-term (up to six months) atmospheric drying. In addition, uneven evaporation of moisture can lead to its deformation or the appearance of deep cracks;

Using laminated veneer lumber will expose the glue seams, significantly degrading the appearance of your masterpiece. In addition, the price of glued material is at least twice as high as that of solid material.

Preparing for work

Tools

Let's find out what tools you will need to make a table, stool or sofa from timber with your own hands:

Folding sofa bed made of timber and boards.

Stationary or hand-held circular saw. Pay attention to the maximum cutting depth: for compact circular saws it often does not exceed 55-65 millimeters;
Plane. Better - electric: it will greatly reduce the time spent on leveling the surface;
Sander. It can be belt or vibration;

Even an inexpensive vibration sander will make your work much easier.

At least three types of sandpaper - from medium to zero;
Drill and brush attachment for it. It will be needed for the already mentioned operation - brushing. The brush should be made of brass-plated wire 0.3 millimeters thick;
Wood drill with a diameter of 16 - 20 millimeters;
High-quality brushes for staining and varnishing. The bristles of cheap brushes often remain in the varnish layer, spoiling the appearance of the surface.

Additional materials

In addition to the above, we will need:

Stain;
Wooden dowels with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the drill;
Wood glue (albumin, casein or bone);
Varnish. If you are making a stool for a dry room, you can opt for polyurethane-based parquet varnish; a do-it-yourself outdoor bench made of timber is coated with a more moisture-resistant yacht varnish.

The most popular trend is wooden furniture

Wooden items are the most successful solution for arranging an outdoor recreation area. They create comfort because natural materials are used. They are environmentally friendly and safe, last a long time, are easy to care for and are quite cheap if used as secondary ones.

The bars for the supporting structure of the table and chairs should be selected at a certain thickness, taking into account the load and overall style.

You can come up with any type of table from wood - rectangular, square, round, oval and even triangular. Chairs can be made permanent or reclining, with a hard surface or upholstery for greater comfort.

Do-it-yourself garden furniture made of wood is the best solution when there are no other materials. Making such items is not at all difficult.

If you don't have the latter, you can get by with sandpaper.

Carpentry lessons

Part connections

All structural parts are connected using glue with additional fixation with dowels. Such a connection is not much inferior in strength to self-tapping screws and differs favorably from them in that it does not force the caps to be masked.

Connecting wooden parts with dowels.

The assembly technology is not complicated:

Glue is diluted in warm water. Before use, it is aged for 40-60 minutes;

Please note: casein glue must be used within three to four hours. After this period, it loses its stickiness, gradually thickening.

Holes for dowels are marked and drilled in both parts. The total depth of the paired holes should be slightly greater than the length of the dowel;
The dowels are lubricated with glue and placed in the holes on one of the parts;
Both surfaces to be glued and the free parts of the dowels are coated with the thinnest possible layer of glue, after which the parts are connected and placed under pressure.

Attention: squeezed out glue must be removed from the surface of the product immediately. Once it sets, it will be almost impossible to clean it without scratching the surface.

Planing

There are a couple of subtleties when working with an electric planer.

The knives should protrude beyond the ski by no more than 0.5 millimeters. It’s better to make a couple of extra passes than to ruin the part with a deep groove;

The smaller the layer removed in one pass, the higher the quality of the surface.

The slower you move the plane over the surface, the less likely it is to get a “wave” from the knives on the planed timber.

Grinding

For rough sanding of wood, you can use not only sandpaper, but also a sanding mesh. It is better to grind only along the grain: with a transverse movement, a coarse abrasive will leave deep scratches that will take a long time to remove with fine-grained paper.

Brushing

This technology allows you to make a cabinet or table from timber with your own hands, giving them the appearance of old products with pronounced surface wear.

The procedure is as follows:

We process the front surface of the part with a metal brush. The pressure on the brush should be minimal, and its movement should be as uniform as possible. This will remove the softest wood fibers; a relief texture will stand out on the timber;
Then the stain is applied - in one or several layers until the desired tone is achieved;
The next step is sanding with fine sandpaper. The pressure on the sander should be insignificant: our task is not to level the surface, but to grind off the texture protruding above it, highlighting it with color.

The photo shows the brushed surface of the ceiling beam.

Varnishing

The varnish is applied last, after the product is completely assembled. If you try to glue pre-varnished parts, the varnish will interfere with the adhesion of the glue to the wood, severely weakening the joints.

When varnishing, you should follow a few simple rules.

The coating is applied in 5-6 thin layers with intermediate drying. There is no point in trying to varnish the surface with a thick layer in one go: the total drying time will not decrease, but will increase;
If possible, the varnish is applied to the surface in a horizontal position. This will avoid drips;
After drying the first layer of varnish, intermediate sanding with zero paper is required. Humidification raises the lint (fibers of the top layer of wood), which will make the surface rough to the touch.

Required materials and tools

In order to harmoniously fit garden furniture into the surrounding design, it is recommended to give preference to wood. Unique products are made from branches, twigs, logs and trunks. However, not only this material is suitable for self-production. When choosing the basics, you can show your imagination by trying to create unusual solutions for the site. When selecting raw materials for work, consider not only the overall style, but also practicality.

It is worth highlighting several popular materials for decorating a personal plot with furniture of your own production:

Concrete blocks - you can use them to make a reliable table, which can later be easily covered with patterned tiles;
Flexible tree branches are used to make attractive chairs, rocking chairs and tables. It is convenient to relax on them in the summer heat under a canopy;
Metal bases – metal will provide high strength, which cannot be said about wood. It is difficult to work with such raw materials; it must be connected using bolts and anchors. Pipes made of steel or duralumin are used for work;
Useful materials - home-made furniture can be easily made from leftover raw materials after renovation, as well as unnecessary things, at no extra cost. This includes pallets, tires, and wooden cable spools.

The choice of material will depend on the preferences of the owners: if you want to create original furniture, you should give preference to non-standard solutions. If strength is the main indicator, choose metal. The tools that will definitely come in handy are a jigsaw, a drill, a screwdriver, a tape measure, a simple pencil, a hammer, drills, and screwdrivers. To work with wood you need a plane, a chisel, and an ax. To work with metal, you will need a grinder with cutting discs. When all the necessary tools and materials have been selected, you can begin to create masterpieces.

Step-by-step instruction

The advantages of homemade garden furniture are its low cost, originality and replacement. If you get tired of the furniture over time, it is easy to replace it with new products created with your own hands. Among the popular models for the garden are the following types of furniture:

Bench;
Chaise longue;
Sol;
Furniture made from pallets;
Wicker options.

To better understand how to make any of these items, it is worth considering the step-by-step assembly instructions. During the description of making garden furniture with your own hands, successful homemade products, photos and drawings will be presented below.

Bench

The simplest option for making a garden bench is to use wooden logs. Products made from such material add special coziness to a summer cottage, adding natural textures and colors. You can place the bench anywhere on the site: on the porch, in the gazebo, under trees, near bushes and even near a pond.

For independent production you will need 2 logs, one of which should be thicker than the other. Woodworking tools and thick bars are also needed. It is worth noting that the part used for the seat must be smooth. This is achieved using a milling machine. If it is not possible to use a machine, purchase a pre-rounded log.

Before you start creating a bench for your summer cottage, you should decide on its type. The bench may have a backrest, be round, made from a solid log, or have fixed seats.

This material proposes making a garden bench with a backrest. To do this, you should follow the algorithm of actions:

Cut a thick log into logs and place them in the chosen location. The distance between them should not exceed 90 cm;
The length of the blocks should be greater than the seat of the future bench. To do this, it is worth leaving gaps of 20 cm;
Cut out recesses on the blocks for inserting the seat. To do this, it is worth measuring the diameter of a thin log and making the appropriate cuts;
A thin log is sawed lengthwise into 2 long halves. One of them is attached to blocks, flat side up. This will be the seat;
The bars are attached to the base of the blocks - their length will be the height of the back;
The second part of a thin log is attached to the bars, forming the back.

At the end of the work, all parts of the bench are opened with protective varnish in several layers. To create decor, you can draw a picture on the seat yourself or involve children in such a fun activity.

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Step-by-step instructions for making

Instructions for making country furniture with your own hands with detailed drawings and dimensions are presented in large quantities on various thematic resources. The owner of the site can only choose the type and method of assembling the structure. The general scheme of actions includes preparation of materials (the more effort spent on this stage, the longer the furniture will last), assembly, and finishing.

Soft, removable covers, pillows or capes help make country benches and chairs more comfortable.

Table

Those who are going to make furniture with their own hands for the first time should start with a table with benches made of boards of different thicknesses. Recommended sizes: from 20 mm for tabletops and seats, from 40 mm for legs with supports. In the simplest version, the table is made entirely of wood; self-tapping screws and bolts with a length of 10–12 mm are used to fasten the elements. Work begins with the preparation of materials and is carried out according to a simple algorithm:

The table top of the country table is assembled first: 3-4 wide boards are fastened with self-tapping screws to 3 crossbars, the structure is checked for strength and leveled.
4 legs are cut out of timber or 40 mm boards, installed at an angle and secured on the inside of the crossbars. The finished structure is reinforced with 2 horizontal elements with a length sufficient to hold the seats (2 tabletop widths).
The boards of the benches are screwed to the fixed supports, the product is sanded, opened with primer and varnish.

Pros and cons of plastic furniture, features of operation and maintenance
A country table made according to this design can be easily rearranged and looks original. The only disadvantage of the design is considered to be poor stability. In more complex products, supports for benches are placed on the same vertical with the center of gravity, and not on the sides. Tables with metal supports, which are connected by welding or bolts, are characterized by maximum stability. If there are high demands on aesthetics, they are made curved.

Sofa and armchairs made from construction pallets and textiles

It is easier to make furniture of this type from new solid pallets, since it takes more time to inspect and strengthen old structures. The sofa drawings are adjusted to the size of the pallets (100 × 120 × 12 cm for standard ones, 80 × 120 × 14 for “euro” varieties). The sofas installed at the dacha are made of a relatively small height - 1-4 blocks of pallets, no more. The design of the furniture can be any: angular, straight, collapsible, with or without a backrest. The work is divided into several stages:

Preparation of pallets for country furniture. The pallets are cleaned of debris, sanded, coated with 2-3 layers of water-repellent antiseptic and dried well. At the same stage, it is recommended to paint them or open them with varnish.
Assembling the base. Pallets are placed on top of each other face down, fastened with screws, nails or corners. Regular pallets are covered with a sheet of plywood on top; when using solid varieties, this is not necessary.
Back fastening. The sawn in half or whole platform is installed vertically and fixed with self-tapping screws.
Preparing removable upholstered furniture. Cushions for such sofas or armchairs can be ordered in a store or sewn with your own hands from scrap materials: canvas, calico, cheap textiles. Pieces of foam rubber 20 cm thick are used as their internal filler. For external covers, whenever possible, purchase suede, chenille, microfiber or other types of furniture textiles that are resistant to fading and negative environmental influences.

When planning to use sofas made from pallets on flat areas, wheels can be attached to the bottom, but in the country this is not necessary. Hidden niches or shelves help improve the functionality of finished products. Decor options vary: from painting and combining colors with textiles to hiding the lighting in the lower part of the furniture.

Armchair and table with seats made from construction reels

Making a country table from a cable reel takes minimal time; the structure remains solid and only needs decoration. An exception is made for models with a narrow leg; in such cases, the lower disk is carefully cut off and used for other purposes (for example, as supports for benches). If necessary, the future table is strengthened, sanded with sandpaper or cleaned with a grinder, covered with 2-3 layers of antiseptic and decorated. Among the possible decor options for country furniture are:

coating with paints and varnishes (vintage style lovers should paint the reel with white paint with the addition of dissolved soap for an “aging” effect);
decoupage - pasting with old newspapers, magazines, textiles, special blanks or cut-outs from napkins, followed by opening with transparent varnish;
attaching forged elements, dried flowers or lanterns to the bottom;
decoration with rope;
decoration with mosaics or pieces of broken ceramics.

Types of shelves, storage furniture, selection criteria

It is recommended to make chairs for such a set from a smaller spool (the product is sawn into 4 equal parts, secured with corners). In its absence, stools can be made from pallets or boards, the emphasis is on matching the finishing method. But armchairs or country sofas, assembled according to a simple scheme, look best near such tables:

The coil is disassembled, holes are cut into the disks for future seats and backrest.
The boards are sawn into pieces of equal length, inserted into the grooves, all elements are tightened and secured with nuts. Fastening begins with the seat, after fixing it, the frame and back boards are nailed.
The structure is checked for stability and evenness. When planning to use such a country chair as a rocking chair, limiters are attached to the wheels, and part of the bottom of stationary structures is cut off.
The surfaces of the chair are cleaned and decorated.

From whole small coils you can make comfortable poufs. To do this, all the seating parts of the set are made soft using foam rubber, furniture textiles and a stapler. The service life of such a country set depends on the condition of the coils and the quality of their preparation.

Saving on grinding or primers is unacceptable.

Swing

You should start by choosing the type of swing. In summer cottages, single varieties without additional crossbars, hanging products, and sun loungers can be installed. Maximum stability is provided by structures on two stationary supports in the shape of the letter “A”, which support any type of swing, including benches with backs for several people. To make them you will need:

A wooden beam with a cross-section of at least 10 × 10 cm for the side posts (from 6 m, taking into account the 50–70 cm depth of the stationary swing into the ground), supports (3 m), and top crossbar (2.5 m).
Beam 5 × 5 cm for armrests, backrest, frame - at least 12 m.
Edged boards 3 × 10 cm - from 6 m.
Chains designed for weights from 200 kg.

You also need to prepare fasteners: furniture bolts with washers for connecting the sides, self-tapping screws, metal corners, 2 pairs of eye bolts, screws with rings for holding the swing.

The work is carried out step by step:

The drain supports are rigidly connected at the top, reinforced on the sides and buried at least 50 cm into the ground (ideally, followed by pouring concrete). In order to extend the service life of the swing, the lower parts of the timber are coated with bitumen.
The main jumper is attached to the racks using metal corners and jibs.
A seat is assembled from thin timber with boards. To do this, 2 sidewalls with vertical jumpers are covered with planks using self-tapping screws. The last to be fixed are the armrests.
A pair of eye bolts are attached to the edges of the frame (back + bottom point of the seat), screws with rings are fixed in the upper part of the jumper, chains of the required length are secured in the rings using carabiners.
The finished structure is opened with varnish.

To ensure proper stability, the fastening step of the main supports of such swings must exceed the width of the seat by 50 cm. The work must be completed by checking the weight support.

Hammock

The simplest hammock for a dacha is made from a piece of any lining fabric (size 3 × 1.5 m), assembled on both sides, and two bushes of thick rope. In this case, the narrow edges of the material are collected with a loop and tied. The sequence of attachment to the tree or the edges of the hammock does not matter.

Making original garden furniture with your own hands, examples of decor

A more beautiful and comfortable country hammock is made from an old metal hoop Ø 100 cm, 4 tension straps up to 3 m long, thin synthetic padding, a strip of furniture fabric 3 × 0.2 m and a square piece 1.5 × 1.5 m for the seat. The work is carried out in the following sequence:

The hoop is cleaned of rust or old paint (if necessary) and wrapped with thin strips of padding polyester. To attach it, use ordinary strong threads.
A narrow strip of fabric is pinned around the hoop, hiding the padding polyester, and sewn together.
A circle is cut out of a large piece of material with a diameter 20–25 cm larger than that of the hoop itself. From the remnants of fabric of the same color, 4 semicircular blanks are cut out for future notches. After that, they are sewn on the inside with 4 spaces placed under the belts.
The hoop is placed in the center of the fabric blank, the edges are folded and sewn.
The straps are pulled through the remaining parts of the hoop, their edges are looped and stitched.
The structure is suspended on a strong support.

For convenience, such country hammocks are hung at an angle. An old hoop is also successfully used in patterns with wicker seats. In general, to obtain spectacular products, it is recommended to use the macrame technique. Both fully wicker products and hammocks decorated with fringe look original.