DIY Outdoor Pallet Furniture

The Table

I have always looked at other peoples outdoor furniture and have wanted something for myself. I love thye magazines that have the gazebos or canopies with a big sectional type sofa underneath and lights going around. It looks like a big extension from the indoors brought outdoors to be in the sunshine. Why can't we be comfortable when we're outside lounging. There is no reason to have to lay on plastic furniture that makes you sweat and creates lines on your legs. I wanted outdoor entertaining in style.
But have you seen the prices of the furniture in the magazines? The sectional, like I would want,  is about $5000. That is the lifestyle of the rich and the famous. I am neither. So how can I have what I want at the price that I can afford? So I started looking around. And I kept seeing all of the pallet designs. I am a pretty crafty person and I could definitely replicate what they're doing. A little bit of thought process and budgeting ....I could make this work.
First on the list is pallets. That part for me came pretty easy. I worked in a grocery store and had access to pallets off of our trucks that came to deliver my produce. We had a coordinated so I would drive the truck into work that day and he off loaded the pallets on to my truck. I took 12 of them. Now in all of the videos that I have seen, they take the pallets apart and rebuild them. So I tried doing that. It was harder work than you would think. The nails are made to hold. It took me about 2 hours to undo 1 pallet. The second pallet I tried to dismantle wouldn't even budge.Back to the drawing board.
I decided to use them whole the way they are.
My first choice was a table. I had to decide on the design but I would like. I have seen some with glass tops and shelves underneath but glass is expensive. So I contemplated on what other style I could have. We went to the restore here in town and I found tile. So I picked out multi colors for the top and smaller ones to make a design. I made the table 2 pallets hi. And I chose a color that I decided I wanted. I chose dark walnut stain. You may choose to paint your pallet or stain it a different shade. No one will see the inside of the pallets so all you have to do are both sides and the edges. After staining I screwed the two pallets together. Then I laid down a sheet of plywood 40x48 and screwed that on. Next I screwed on a 40x48 piece of backer board. Now comes the tile then the grout. Then four 4x4 posts in the corners on the bottom for legs and 4 casters on to them so you can easily move the table. This will also raise it to its desired height. If you would like it higher or lower choose the size of the leg posts accordingly. Stained the posts and screw then to the bottom pallet in all four corners then screw in the casters. For a finished look I will also add half rounds to the edges of the table and stain them. 

Seats

I stacked the pallets 3 high and I stained them like I did the table. I did not screw them together for ease of movement. I did put a sheet of plywood on the tops 40x48 and stained that as well to make it weatherproof. SD for the cushion , I went shopping. Find what you like. What will fit and what fits into your budget. The long teal cushions on the bottom came from Lowes. I paid $150 total for them. The small pillows I found at Wal Mart. They were $7.99. (Lowes had them for $13.99) The solid colored pillows I made out of the Sunbrella fabric I had left from making things for the sailboat. I got the pillows to cover at a garage sale last year at 3 for $1. They are an ugly floral design but it didn't matter because I one they would be covered. Throw it all together for an amazing end result. if you decide to make your own, please send me a picture. I would love to see your design and creativity. Have fun!