Outdoor Sectional DIY

Some projects take much longer to finish than anticipated. Like ten months longer. But when they are finally completed you're so glad you made them and can check it off the to do list with an accomplished smile.

At least that's how it was with our outdoor sectional. The actual build itself wasn't very difficult and we had it done in a weekend. Then it sat for a few months before I got around to staining it. Then I couldn't find cushions so it sat for a couple of seasons before I decided to make some of my own. So here we are, eleven months after the project began and it is finally done!

The plans for the sectional are from Ana White and we adapted the measurements to fit our space. I used Behr Transparent Weather Proofing All-In-One Wood Finish in Cedar Naturaltone for the stain. And after searching all over the internet for a cushion pattern I ended up following this YouTube video tutorial which was relatively easy to follow considering I'm a novice at the sewing machine. I chose an outdoor fabric and used velcro on the closure so that the cushion covers can be easily taken off and washed.

I learned two very useful tidbits about myself during the sewing phase of this project:
One - I cannot cut in a straight line to save my life
and
Two - I forget numbers as soon as they come into my head. Seriously I do not even know how many times I had to measure and re-measure and then still measured wrong.
And while my measurement mistakes delayed the process because I had to order more fabric (which was, thankfully, super on sale at the time!), I was able to make lemonade out of those lemons and used the extra fabric I now had to make pillows.

So while this project took way longer than I had wanted, it's done and I love it. Now I'm wanting to build a table/ottoman to match. Any bets on how long that one takes?

Blessings,
the Crunchy Peach