Pinterest Project #1

There is no point in me lying - the #1 thing I was most excited about with our new house was the pending Pinterest projects. (If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll know that I even have an entire board set up as my "to-do" list for when Logan is down range...) But, lucky me convinced L to already help me knock one project out!

Here was our inspiration:

Source

I fell in love with this idea months ago and was so excited to give it a shot. L and I went to Lowes, and the cinder blocks, lumber (we used 4x4x6's), and spray paint totaled a little over $50. (Thanks, military discount!) We skipped the cement glue they elect to use in the tutorial, since ours is a temporary structure.

(Please excuse the bit of weeding we need to do under the porch!) L got to work spray painting - I swear I didn't mean to get the same exact color! We chose spray paint rather than paint paint, and it was applied to both structures in less than 30 minutes. We left them to sit in the sun for another 30 before moving them to the porch.

We got it all set up and I was in love! It is very deep, however, so finding cushions was tricky. Our bench itself is about 55" long and 30" deep. The tutorial said you could find extra big cushions at places like World Market, but even online, we were looking at $75 for a cushion (or cushions) that still wouldn't be big enough. So, we decided to make our own!

I did some quick math and realized that three pillows could fill up most of the space. A 20% off coupon for Bed, Bath, and Beyond helped me get these fellas for $24. (I could've gotten cheaper ones at Wal-Mart, I'm sure, but I felt like these might be more durable.) I ran to Hancock Fabrics and got some outdoor fabric and some heat binding (I really should invest in a sewing machine...) and got to work!

I laid the fabric out with the right sides facing each other (I threw the pillows in there just to measure where I'd be binding) and began using my iron to create a seam. The heat binding was so easy to use - I laid it down, pressed the fabric together, used a damp wash cloth as a press cloth, and went to town! It took me about an hour and a half to finish 3 sides, but it was worth it.

I flipped the giant pillow case right side out and stuffed the pillows inside and voila! I'm still trouble shooting how to seal the 4th side (and consulting my sewing genius friend, CJ) but over all, I'm happy with it! We need to add a few throw pillows, I need to seal it with some Rust-Oleum Never Wet, and I am definitely on the lookout for some side tables, but for now, it's perfect. 

Part of me wishes I had done individual pillow cases, or gotten something like memory foam for the inside, but I think this one cushion will do the trick until the fall when I'm counting on outdoor furniture items to go on way clearance to invest in others.

What do you think? Do you like it? 

For reference, next on the docket is decking out the guest room and building the fire circle!