DIY Adirondack Love Seat

DIY Adirondack Chairs 

DIY is a “relative term” depending on your abilities.  This post is not about a step by step process but more about building your confidence. 

Building a frame: 

Like many DIY’ers or Makers, our Engine31Studio was born out of trial and error.  As many of us do, we look at something and say: “I think I can do that and maybe even better”.   Luckily for me the seeds were planted as a child following my father around the woodshop making tiny toys, logos of my favorite rock band or a chess set.  Over the years and in my father’s declining health I inherited tools from the 1950’s with names like Smith and Roebuck or Delco atop makeshift pedestals, stands and table tops.   

We purchased some Adirondack chairs and also during a trip to the coast of NC we saw a home-made Adirondack loveseat and after returning I thought let’s merge the two ideas.  The first step was to buy some pressure treated lumber from the local hardware store.  The kind of boards that you would use for a traditional deck.  The most important step was to start with the frame, so that would be the two boards that run lateral to the ground and it doesn’t mean you have to get fancy like I did with subtle curves and turns.  You do, however, want to make each piece on each side exactly alike so be sure when you stack them on top of each other they’re very close.  

How do you achieve this?  First go ahead and cut pieces to length which match an existing chair you have handy near you.  If you want to trace the curves go for it.  In case you don’t know the curves tend to be what makes it more comfortable in the end, they help the seat countour better.  How do you achieve those curves after you’ve drawn them?  You’d probably need a jigsaw or in my case I have a bandsaw.  After cutting as close as possible use a mouse sander or even if you have a band sander, even better.  You’ll need the straight up 90-degree front perpendicular piece next.  Cut that to length and if I didn’t say it earlier use a chop saw, skill saw or table saw.  

Next, you’ll need the piece where your arms tend to rest, again how simple or complex each piece is up to you.  I wanted a nice, curved design again I traced from another chair.  Each time replicating so you have two of each for both sides.  I next purchased some carriage bolts in anticipation of creating two curved pieces, one at the bottom and another behind your back when you sit.  These two curved pieces are what the individual boards your back rests against will be screwed into.  

At the back of the armrest, we drilled a hole for the carriage bolt with a rounded top that was inset or recessed just a bit into the wood with a nut on the bottom that can also be slightly inset if desired.  We also used another set of carriage bolts on the straight 90 degree board in the front perpendicular to the ground where it attaches to those first two boards we cut which is right around where the back of your knees rest.  Why the carriage bolts in those two areas?  Because they attach well and they also provide a bit of flexibility if you have to adjust your frame a bit before every other piece gets locked in.  The rounded board at the bottom of the seat where your bottom sits is attached to the first two boards you designed; it will rest atop.  Rounding the two boards at the bottom and for support ½ of the way up your back are two of the most challenging boards.  By rounding them it will allow your loveseat to contour in a rounded fashion from end to end.  

Want to simplify?  Do less rounding and shaping, there is nothing wrong with that the chair will still function well.  Where my hands tend to rest at the edge of the arm, I rounded them and underneath you can also place little flared touches.  As you’re starting to connect the dots be sure to do things on a flat and level surface like your garage or a back patio because nothing is more frustrating when you start putting things together and everything is wobbly.  I like to use screws if I make a mistake I just back it out, shift a board and screw it in.  Bit of paint to fill in a hole and no one is the wiser.   

The body – the back and seat 

Honestly, once the frame is done that’s the hard part and finally, I can start using my creative side.  Let’s think about where our back and bottom rests.  For the back I tried a sort of wingback look or ocean wave kind of nautical flair.  The first thing to do is go ahead and cut the number of boards you’ll need to go from one side to the other.  Lay them all on a flat surface side by side with the top and bottom right next to each other like a deck square if you will, no spaces in between.  

If you want sort of a back to have a rounded curve or a high area and a low area, whatever your design is go ahead and use a pencil and mark off your back design.  I used a rope and then drew it.  Remember later you can perfect your design by cutting and sanding.  Next, I preferred to have a bit of space between each picket so if you used 6 boards to go from end to end, perhaps remove a board before you trace because when you leave a gap you’ll be using less wood.  If you think, wow that’s a lot of space what I prefer to do is not use a 5 ½ inch board but to use my table saw and cut that exactly in half.  With more boards it tends to provide a nicer contour for your back because remember you’ll be screwing those boards into the upper and bottom curves creating a comfy lounging experience.   

As far as the seat goes, that’s pretty easy, again cut your board lengths so they rest atop those two lateral boards with the ground that we initially started with for the frame.  It doesn’t need to be perfect they can overlap a bit too.  Remember early on when we created the frame, I tended to have a curve to those first two boards so that when you sit it slopes a bit towards where it meets the seat and back.  Like when we cut the back, I used the table saw to cut those boards in half too, so that I could have gaps and slowly slope to the back of the seat.  Start from where your knees are from the front and work your boards back towards the seat when you screw them in.  Then the fun begins.  Eventually, there will be one last board that needs to be affixed and it can be an odd shape.  There should be a bit of space where your board will overlap like the others, but you’ll need to almost cut in a semi-circle to fill the space in and where the seat of your pants will be parked.  A bit of trial and error and you’ll cut the perfect piece.  This is where I would use the whole width of a board and not cut it in half.   

Reflecting and some tips and tricks. 

Every time I made a chair or loveseat, I learned something, and I took some chances to make it fancier and more imaginative.  The neighbors love them because I made so many and they got some too as gifts.  I also learned the size of a loveseat and using pressure - treated boards made it a bit heavy and therefore not something I want to be shipping or driving around.  It will get lighter and lighter when the sun dries them out so maybe lay the boards outside in the sun for a few days / weeks before starting.  Another smart tip is to make sure that you paint the frame and then paint each back board and seat board before installing them.  Trying to do this afterward is difficult.  After a few years and depending on the weather, you’ll need to freshen them up.  If you plan on placing it on the lawn, I recommend putting some kind of stone or paver underneath wherever it comes in contact with the ground to keep wood from getting waterlogged and rotting.  You just might get a long life out of them where the ones I bought online to begin with are on their last legs, the ones I built with my hands are going strong and will last a long time.  If you’ve gotten good at creating your loveseat or chair, think about your next project, maybe a sister piece to rest your feet like a matching contoured foot stool.  You’re a pro now, give it a shot.   

If your cup of tea is a bit of DIY with a nautical flair and creating or shopping for surfboard beach decor, where we sell shabby-chic wooden home decor items. Come check us out at: 

 www.engine31studio.com or www.engine31studio.etsy.com. 

You can even buy a few things and do a bit of DIY like with our surfboard designs or paint over some of our cast iron hooks to make one of a kind decor or just mix and match.