ORC Week 5: Modern DIY Patio Benches (Super Easy)
This is week five of the One Room Challenge…
…and I must say, our patio area is becoming a space where our family actually spends time! I cannot believe we’ve lived here for more than a full year before touching this space. Now, it’s safer for Joe (our 17-month-old baby), it’s more our style, and it seats SO many people! If only we were living during a time when entertaining groups larger than 10 were acceptable.
With each One Room Challenge post comes an update on our progress, so before I show you the DIY tutorial for the awesome benches Jason built, I need to tell you about the surprise of a lifetime:
My mom and my mother-in-law traveled together (what?!) all the way from Chicago, where Jason and I both grew up (go Cubbies!)! I had just finished feeding Joe his dinner when I saw something moving outside. It was the two of our moms sneaking up the back deck, each holding six bottles of wine in their arms and giggling like little girls!! I thought it was a dream lol! So naturally, over the course of the five days our moms were here, we all tag-teamed baby duties inside and worked on the patio outside. At one point, I had Joe-duty while our moms were outside painting the stencil on the patio. Don’t believe me? I made sure to get pics!
Of course, we rewarded ourselves with a glass of wine (or two!) each night after a long day of work in the scorching hot Colorado sunshine.
In case you’re interested in our painting process and materials, here’s a brief summary:
I power-washed all of the concrete, then rolled-on (using a 3/4″ nap roller to make sure it got inside all the bumps and grooves of the concrete) Clark and Kensington Exterior Satin Paint that I had color-matched to Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. I used a Purdy XL 2″ wide paint brush to fill in where the roller missed and make touch-ups. I painted the border, as well as the stencil, in Clark and Kensington Exterior Satin Paint that I had color-matched to Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray. I actually later decided I wanted to paint the rest of the patio (the lower area and the steps) in Edgecomb Gray, too. What a difference it has made already! Major kudos to Ace Hardware and #mylocalace (Westwoods Ace—much love to you guys!) for sponsoring all of the paint and the painting supplies!
The stencil I used is the Ranae Geometric Floral Stencil from Royal Design Studio. Since it comes in such a large size, it helped us save some time (I’ve done a stenciled backsplash using a smaller stencil before, and the process took so long that I quit and made the stenciled area a “statement” backsplash hah!).
Now, on to the main event from this past week:
Modern DIY Patio Benches—Super Easy!
Materials:
Loctite PL 500 Landscape Block Synthetic Rubber Construction Adhesive 28 oz. (x1)
Pavestone RumbleStone Mini (we chose the Greystone color) (12 for one bench, with one bench having two stacks. To completely replicate our patio, you’d need 48)
Pavestone RumbleStone Medium (8 for one bench, with one bench having two stacks. To completely replicate our patio, you’d need 32)
Pavestone RumbleStone Large (4 for one bench, with one bench having two stacks. To completely replicate our patio, you’d need 16)
Orbital sander
Sandpaper (100 and 120-grit)
Minwax stain, if desired (we used Puritan Pine)
Minwax polyurethane sealer (satin finish), if you decided to stain your wood
Prep:
Since people will be sitting on these pine posts, be sure to first give them a really good sanding—nobody wants a splintered behind! If desired, stain your 4″x4″ posts, seal, and allow to dry. Since wood is an organic material, no two wood tones will look exactly the same, so always test the stain on a sample piece of the wood you’re using to be sure the color looks how you want before applying it to the wood you’re using in your project.
Make sure you have a trusted helper to hold the tape measure as you space-out your pavers…
Process:
Stack your paver stones in your desired pattern, and we recommend you take a photo so you can replicate this pattern for the remaining stacks.
We did the following, starting from the bottom and working your way up: First, x2 large, laid flat
Next, x2 medium, laid flat and x2 mini, stacked
Then, x2 medium, side-by-side and x2 mini, stacked (forgot to take a pic of this layer, sorry!), followed by x2 large, laid flat and side-by-side…
…and finally, x2 mini, stood on their sides. You’ll place the 4″x4″ posts around these.
2. Once you’ve determined the pattern you’re going to use when stacking your paver stones, dissemble the stacks and rebuild using Loctite construction adhesive between each stone, starting from the bottom.
Note that sometimes your stones will shift as the adhesive dries, so stay nearby and put stones back in place to ensure straight columns.
3. Before gluing the top (small) stones on, place your 4″x4″ posts on top to be sure everything fits as it should. If it’s A-OK, go ahead and apply the adhesive.
4. Use a clamp to hold the three posts and the two small stones (between them) in place until everything is dry.
5. Have a little wine and cheese soiree with a couple family members or friends over to enjoy your new patio seating!