DIY Pallet Bench: Part 3

Friends, my first ever DIY furniture project is complete! Presenting…my Pallet Bench!

If you’ve been following along the past two weeks or so, you’ve probably seen the whole process, but just in case…
First, I assembled my bench using two half pallets and two quarter pallets from Crates and Pallet, and two 2×4 boards. You can find the full how-to here; you won’t believe how simple it is to do!

Once the construction was complete, I sanded the surface, then stained my bench with Thompson’s WaterSeal Timber Oil in Redwood. Once coat did the trick, which was awesome because one coat took a long time to do with so much surface area.

All that was left was to make it more comfy and style it with some pretty outdoor pillows and cushions. I got mine from my friends at Shutterfly. {Mine were provided, but all opinions are my own.} I knew I already loved the quality and durability of their pillows since I already have some on my existing deck furniture, so all that was left was to choose the specific ones I wanted. I decided I mostly wanted to focus on colors and patterns, but I did want one photo pillow to be the central focus. My favorite design was Forever Ours; I uploaded a family photo from our session with Jen Snyder, then entered our last name and the year hubby and I got married.

For the accent pillows on the sides, first I went with the Simple Monogram Pillow. This design is fully customizable, so I made the side colors Bright Indigo and changed the font of the initial. The other thing I had in mind was a geometric pattern, which at first wasn’t one of the options, but I figured out how to make it happen! To get a pillow that’s a solid color or a pattern, just choose the Upload Your Own Design option, select Personalize, then click on the second tab on the left which says Backgrounds. You’ll get a bunch of colors and some patterns to choose from; I picked the yellow and white quatrefoil one.

Shutterfly doesn’t specifically make chair or bench cushions, but I decided to try out two of their largest pillow design {20×20} side by side. Right now they’re super puffy since they’re brand new, but I’m pretty certain once we sit on the bench a few times, they’ll flatten out and cover most of the seat’s surface. Once again, I used the Design Your Own option and picked the same pattern in teal and white.

I’m absolutely loving the way it looks and I can’t wait to spend lots of quality time sitting on it with hubby, Little Crafter, or just a good book! What do you think?