Hey Sally, Thanks for the comment. I love that you had your own built-in seating made, I was on the fence about the whole idea but in the end I did go ahead and order a sectional that I got for a steal made with sunbrella fabric, but I still have questions for ya. First, how is your sunbrella fabric holding up? Are you happy with it? Secondly, where did you find long ‘L’ shaped sunbrella cushions? That was one of the things that I was searching for, but couldn’t find long custom cushions. Thanks!

Awesome! I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Hey Mark! Thanks for the advice on the sunbrella fabric. The sectional that I was looking at that was out of my price range was made of sunbrella cushions. Your comment prompted me to go take a look at my amazon shopping cart (where the sectional had been residing for the last week). To my surprise, amazon was now offering me a $200 coupon to try and entice me. Well, it worked. The sofa was now just $200 over my original budget, and with your recommendation to invest in good out door fabric, I had to do it. Plus every review I read about the sofa was 5 stars. Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback Karen! Your sofa turned out so great, you should be proud! I’ve made my own cushions in the past, and although they turned out pretty darn good, sewing doesn’t come naturally to me, and I’d rather just have someone else do it. Thanks for leaving a comment!

I think I remember in one of the comments on the Ryobi site, that Ana said she sized her plans to fit some Home Depot outdoor cushions.
Spring is coming!

Although they are definitely not the cheapest up-front option, something to consider…

Good luck!

Hi Scoops! Do NOT make your own cushions, lol. Between the foam and the fabric it’s too much of an expense to screw up and too much of a headache. It was worth the $600 or whatever it was for me to have everything made for me. And I’m a hard core doer. :) You can *also* buy much cheaper black cushions from Ikea which are super-plain and really nice. They just weren’t thick enough for what I wanted plus they were sold out by the middle of summer when I was starting to make this behemoth. :) ~ karen!

Oof, March. Why did it decide to be so cold the last two weeks? I’m definitely considering a DIY plan now that you guys have given me such good examples. We will see…

Hey Monica! Thanks for these links! I am new to both of these sites, so I’m excited to snoop around. Karen’s sofa is really amazing! The wheels in my brain are already turning. The biggest hurdle for me is getting cushions, I really don’t want to make any – I’ve made enough cushions in my day, and I’m over it ;)

Fistbump returned.

Ugh, March is the worst. I was just going to chime in with Karen’s Restoration diy. You could definitely pull this off Alison.

just wanted to link you to a couple DIY outdoor sectional options:
– Ana White’s 2×4 outdoor furniture set: table; sofa; sectional
– Karen’s knock-off Restoration Hardware set: intro; build; reveal
You’d have to get/make cushions for both these, but either would be cheaper (Karen’s wasn’t but that’s because she splashed out on having her cushions made).

i feel you on the seasonal depression, hang in there! (fistbump of solidarity)