This season has been so weird, to say the least… Being home all day every day with little variety has made us stir crazy. We usually find refuge in our backyard screened-in porch. We’ve always had ideas for how we can transform our space but due to living on a budget, we’ve not taken the jump to purchase anything. That’s when we started to dream up something we could build.

We challenged ourselves to create something fun but safe and enjoyable but budget-friendly. Before starting, we looked around the house for what we had: some extra pillows, access to a twin mattress, and plenty of wood in our garage. So Brandon and I started to draw up the plans for a porch swing!

What We Bought
1. Most of the materials for the base itself. We didn’t want to make the base out of any wood that might be warped or damaged because it was important that is was safe to sit on. So our list included lots of wood, the rope, and eye hooks.
2. The patterned pillow covers. We found some affordable covers to cover the pillows we already had. We sprayed each pillow with scotch guard (which we already had) and we take our pillows inside each night. The other pillows are covered with a paint drop cloth, which we also purchased, but I sewed the actual covers.
3. A zippered waterproof mattress protector. To keep us from having to bring the mattress in and out, leave a waterproof mattress cover over our mattress. We also sprayed it down with scotch guard.

What We Found in our Home
1. Stain, wood glue, and nails. We have done lots of home and DIY projects, so we have plenty of these materials which help keep the price lower. We might have picked a slightly lighter stain, but we just used what we had. We didn’t have to buy any extra of these materials.
2. Pillows and Twin Mattress. We gathered any throw pillow I could find, looking for a variety of sizes. We were lucky to have a family member with an extra twin mattress as well. If we had to purchase a mattress we might have picked a smaller plan to accommodate outdoor couch cushions instead.
3. Waterproofing spray. As I mentioned above, we sprayed all material with scotch guard to help prolong its outdoor life. We will respray every few months to keep it protected!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•