I've been wanting patio furniture for my balcony for the warm months but find patio furniture being sold here quite generic-looking or bulky or just not with the design I have in mind (especially a low-seater design), and if otherwise, quite expensive for sure. You wouldn't believe how expensive they sell such things here. And to think I took the outdoor bamboo furniture I got back home for granted when it's quite inexpensive compared with the prices of such things here. They'd be surprised if they knew. That'd fetch quite some amount here for sure. 'Cause it's pretty good and sturdy bamboo furniture. *shakes head* I certainly haven't seen bamboo furniture here of the likes made back in the Philippines. And one of the chairs has become my pet dog's chair even. lol.
I just wanted an outdoor seating solution where I can cozy up/put my feet up on the seat as well, with my laptop, or a book maybe, outdoors at a corner of the balcony. Since a side of my balcony faces a park and the front is open sky, not another building or structure, it'd be nice to hang out there in the evenings especially.
I thought I found the right bench at the right price while browsing through the Internet. But, while browsing the Internet, I also saw some DIY pallet benches I liked. Actually, I preferred. However, no one sees pallet benches sold quite commercially. Not very common. If it were, it'd be probably by a really expensive furniture/design store I expect. And it'd be probably cost at least slightly more than an Apple iPad mini or iPhone, that's if you're lucky enough to find one. So I thought I'd settle for the commercial one online. But made of plastic. =(
Anyway I showed it to a friend and he suggested a bench made of pallets. Well, what do you know! He and I are on the same wavelength. Lol. Didn't think I'd know someone else here, especially a guy, who's into design/art, too. Also, it turns out the commercial one's length is longer than the side corner of my balcony where I plan on placing the bench anyway so ultimately I can't buy that bench for that side of my balcony.
What's even better was, my friend works for a company that gets delivered goods on pallets. A-ha! So long story short, I gave him my specifics in terms of dimension and how low I wanted the bench and voila, got my bench now.
readying to spray outdoor/exterior wood stain on the bench
helping protect it from the elements outdoors
It's not a perfectly-made pallet bench but it'll do. It's still great I get to have one though. I thought at the beginning I'd paint the seat and back surfaces white but after seeing the finished product, well, I decided to just forego any paint and leave the color as is. It looks best in its natural wood look, don't you think?
Yeah I'm into simple lines and design for my balcony as opposed to the bulky patio furniture that's being sold around here. Think Scandinavian or Japanese minimalist design, hence my choice of an outdoor pallet bench, in that color, and on a rather low seat height on which I can put up my feet and cross my legs while seated.. lol (feels more cozy, even my friend wasn't expecting how he liked how it turned out. hehe!).
We used new boards for the chair back and seat though. And screwed on some little furniture leg thingies on the four corners of the base to slightly elevate the bench so that when it's out on the balcony and it rains, the bottom won't get soaked quite so easily.
My friends delivered the bench yesterday and now it's in my flat, by the hallway; currently serving as a hallway bench while its cold out. I plan on moving it to the balcony in the spring when it's drier and warmer. And wait 'til the stores here start selling more outdoor items come summer so I can hopefully find the right seat cushion for it and not have even that custom-made (hassle!). Hehe!
Glad I got the bench. It's pretty cool! =)
