Build a Restoration Hardware sofa like mine! Here’s how the wholeeeee thing is constructed.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t use plans when I build something. I just start nailing, cutting and cursing. Partly because I don’t really know how to read plans and partly because I’m usually making something for a very specific space so I want it to be the size that I want; not what some plans want.
Which is exactly how I ended up building my outdoor “Restoration Hardware” furniture. I bought some wood, I started cutting and let Snarklefart and Habbityass dance off my tongue. What I ended up with was some backyard furniture that turned out way better than I thought it would and a succession of never-ending emails over the next 2 years about how it was all put together.
As I built the sectional and chair I put up posts about how I aged it with a home made vinegar and steel wool stain, how I constructed the arms and how I hacked up the wood to give it some character and chamfered the edges. What I didn’t show you was exactly how I put it all together.
What seemed to cause the most confusion (for myself and you) was how I created the corner of the sectional. If the sectional weren’t tilted back on a bit of an angle (to make it more comfortable), doing the corner would have been easy and pretty straight forward.
Instead it was a nightmare. The thought bubble over my head while trying to figure this out would have just been a bunch of squiggles and the letters K, C, F and U. Not necessarily in that order.
After a couple of days I finally came up with a solution. It wasn’t a terribly elegant solution but it works.
In the spring when I was cleaning up my backyard I took the opportunity to take photos of the sectional while it was naked and with nothing hiding the view.
Behold my naked backyard and sectional. The next series of photos will show you exactly how it’s put together.
- Most things are joined with L brackets. After building it I decided I’d like a bit more of an angle on the seat and back so I added wood. A 2×2 to the seat to tip the front of it up a bit. And a 2×4 to the bottom of the back. These work together to create even more of a V for sitting. Once the cushions are on you don’t notice them at all.
- Again you can see I’ve used L Brackets to join the two sections at the corner on the seat.
- Extra pieces of 6×6 (the same as the arms) are under the seats as well for extra support and strength.
Now that slightly inelegant corner …
Just ignore the little triangular notch in the top of the corner – it just split and a piece of wood fell out. It has nothing to do with the building of the corner.
Had I been thinking in advance, or had plans, or had one rice grain of sanity left in me after the construction of this thing, I would have notched out the corner so it ran even with the backs of the sofa. But I had none of those things.
- The corner is just another piece of 6×6 like the arms are made out of with both sides of the back L bracketed to it on an angle.
- The seats are also L bracketed to the corner from both the sides…
and underneath.
Other than the arms, which are made of 6×6 ash that I got from a private sawmill, the rest of the wood used to make the sectional is scrounged; old pieces of barn board and lumber I already had.
The cushions I had custom made and they’re what cost a lot. Around $1000 if I remember correctly. I might not be remembering correctly because mostly when things cost a lot more than I want to pay I just throw that number of out of my brain for good.
Of course the sectional can be made to any length you want. I built it to fit my space.
I also built it to fit me. So the chairs aren’t as deep as the Restoration Hardware ones.
If you’re still a bit unsure of it all, here’s a video walking you around the entire sectional from front to back (without the cushions on it)
I hope that answers all of the questions you’ve had about the construction of the Restoration Hardware outdoor sectional.
If not – at this very moment I’m in the middle of collaborating with someone to have plans for this furniture made so you can actually buy them.
You know – if you’re the kind of person who uses plans. So a smart person! Yes. You are a smart person. Just not as smart as someone who makes so much money they can drop $20,000 on the original Restoration Hardware set.
Looking to build this using old beams from a Church restoration. How did you attach the 4 posts for the arms to one another?
Thanks for sharing this Karen- I’m thinking of building it (using pine as it’s cheaper/more readily available). One question: How solid are the joints that use the L-brackets? Are there any movements and/or noises from the furniture when in use?
Hi Karen. I made this! It’s amazing! Thanks for your inspiration.
Please could you post a pic of the back and sides of the cushions so I can see how they did the seams. I’m struggling to work it out, I’ve made one but it’s a bit loose because of the foam being so big, it’s hard to get it into the opening.
Thanks again
HI Alison. That’s why I had my cushions made by a professional. It’s almost impossible to get them tight like they can and even more impossible to try to fit foam into the cover. The cushions are away right now so I can’t give you a pic but congratulations on making the sectional!! ~ karen
Inspirational! We’re doing this project right now, April 2021!!! Amazing to think it’s been like 4 years and people are still discovering your great work!
Hi Karen,
Awesome work, great post. I’m about to follow suit and build one for myself.
Quick question — where is your firepit from? Available for purchase, or did you build that too?
Thanks!
B
Hi Karen – great looking project. Out of curiosity can you let me know what width you made the 6X6 ‘legs’ – they appear around 30″‘ish. Did you make the seat cushion the same width or marginally less to accommodate where the back cushion meets the seat cushion? Thanks.
Hey Karen,
This might be a daft question, but gonna ask anyway..
For the L brackets, on the chair, did you put them on the seat plank first or the arms?
I have the arms ready to go, but scratching my head on how to get the place attached – level.. 😳
Thanks!
Hi Sarah. I’m sorry but I don’t remember which ones I screwed in first. :/ I know that’s not much help to you. ~ karen!
I love this, thank you for posting!! Can you tell me what you have on the bottom of the 6×6 arms to lift it off if the ground.
Hi Ashely. I put refrigerator caster wheels on the bottom to make it easier to move around. :) ~ karen!
Hi Karen! Thanks for the instructions on building this sectional. I am almost finished building one of my own and it is looking awesome. Quick question… I read that you used 6 inch cushions for the seat cushions. What thickness did you go with for the back cushions? I appreciate your help!
Hi Shannon! All the cushions are the same depth – 6″. Bottom and back. ~ karen!
Do you have any plans of it yet? Thank you for your time!
Hi Brittany. I wish I did but I don’t. But honestly, if you know enough to be able to read plans, you can probably make this on your own without them. :) ~karen!
please provide wood type and instructions to build
Hi Todd. I used ash, (which I talk about in one of the sectional posts.) I’m afraid I don’t have any instructions beyond the other posts that I linked to within this post. (there’s one on staining the wood, ageing the wood and drilling the arms together) I built it without any plans – I just started cutting and building. ~ karen!
got it thanks for your response. Looks really nice. I’m just curious about the lengths you used.. the 6×6 arms and the planks for the seats. the rest is kind of obvious.
First of all – this is stunning and exactly what I was looking for, as I spent my £20,000 on a pot-bellied pig who now weighs 600lbs. But anyhoo.
It says, near the end, “If you’re still a bit unsure of it all, here’s a video walking you around the entire sectional from front to back (without the cushions on it)”
I may be going crazy but I can’t see any video? Can you point me towards it? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I’m guessing you have an ad blocker on your computer. If you do, you won’t be able to see any of my videos. If it is because of an ad blocker, you can go in and disable it for my site. (or any other blogs) ~ karen!
I’m such a moron. Thanks for your quick reply!!
Where did you get your sectional cushions from?
Hi Wendy. I had them made at a local place. I have no idea where you are, but if you’re around Hamilton, Ontario, the cushions were custom made at Foamland on Ottawa Street. ~ karen!
How did you screw the 6 x 6 together please … I love this so much.
Wow, so cool!
We had the foam backs cut at an angle.
That’s a good idea Jennifer. Can you show us what the end result is? Sounds like you’ve diy’d some sort of furniture.
Got to share this with my granddaughter’s boyfriend. He does similar work with whatever he can get his hands on. I know he would love to make this for their redone backyard. Thanks for all the work getting this post and especially for making plans available later. You’re da best!
What’s the story with that sweet fire table thingy in the center? Did you make that too?
Hi Jen! I bought the fire table in the middle of winter from a big box store when it was about 75% off. :) ~ karen!
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for this fantastic post (and previous ones). I can’t wait to have someone make this for our new house. Curious if you have a brand name for that fire table. Thank you!
Hi janet. I’m afraid I don’t. I bought the table in the middle of winter on sale from a local hardware store. ~ karen!
I can relate to your approach to design and building despite having spent 35+ years working as a consulting engineer on large engineering projects around the globe. These projects were designed and built by hundreds, if not thousands of engineers, contractors and tradespeople from many thousands of drawings. So you would think that I would appreciate the need for proper drawings and I do.
However when it comes to personal projects without the necessity to co-operate and communicate with others I, like yourself, just pick up my tools and get at it as the ideas unfold in my head. To make matters worse I insist on only using lumber and other scrap materials left over from my previous projects before resorting to the purchase of any new material.
Of course the downside is that inevitably my projects involve a Version 1 followed by a Version 2 and so on to fix all the unforseen errors and missed details that would have become obvious had proper drawings been made beforehand. Needless to say my friends and children think I’m nuts but that’s the way it is.
Friends and children are highly overrated these days…. 😁
Yep. Most of the things I’ve built would be better with a version 2, lol. But they’re usually good enough to not necessitate a version 2 thankfully. ~ karen!
I love it! Plans? Too many rules. But I do have a burning question before I get out my tools… how are your cushions holding up? They look great! I assume you don’t rush outside to bring them in from the rain. The thing that keeps me from buying or making outdoor furniture with cushions is the idea that I am too lazy to bring them in and out every time I want to sit on them. I prefer once in the spring, and again in the fall, y’know? So is the secret in the fabric, or the foam, or what? Thanks, Karen!
Hi Barb. You actually can’t bring these cushions in. They’re too big. Well, I guess you could be seriously they’re huge and really heavy. I keep my huge 10′ by 10′ umbrella up most of the time to protect the cushions from light rains and if it’s going to pour like it did the other day, I cover the entire sectional with all the other cushions piled on top of it with an outdoor furniture cover. My biggest fear with the cushions actually is that mice will get into them in the winter. So far so good. They’re holding up great. No damage, no fading. ~ karen!
This is BRILLIANT! This is what I call “emergency engineering,” meaning figuring out what will work when you have no design to follow. You did a great job! Am I right in assuming that the 6″x6″ vertical piece at the corner is also acting as a leg to your console table that you put behind the couch? And did you even plan to build that table or were you forced to by this extra corner piece? I have to say that this is a marvelous bit of serendipity that led to gorgeous results!
You’d have been an asset on Apollo 13 when they had to make something up so they could return to earth.
Oh no, the sofa table is just a piece of barn board sitting on two metal Ikea laundry hampers I’ve painted black. :) ~ karen!
Once again, brilliant! (I’ll have to check out those laundry hampers.)
Simply Awesome!!
Gasp, no you didn’t! Wow! I was at the mall with a gf recently and she was feeling kind of down. I said, ‘c’mon let’s go up to Restoration Hardware and laugh at the prices. That’ll cheer you up!’ Amazing job!
Yes, lol. Their prices are insane. I can’t even imagine their markup. ~ karen!
This is awesome and the reason (how I discovered your blog) I started following you. I could figure out how to make a seat and back connection but it was those huge stacked arms that befuddled me. Thanks for all you do to make our little corner of the world brighter.