Description: I designed, built, and painted this set of patio furniture from scratch for my family during Covid. I conducted research, created a technical drawing, wrote instructions, calculated the cost, purchased the materials, constructed, painted, and gave my family a new set of outdoor patio furniture.

Concept: The design for this furniture was inspired by Joanna Gaines’s farmhouse style. The thick 2 x 4 structure of the set with Xs on either side of each piece and white paint best showcases this. I was also fascinated with the idea of floating shelves and sought to discover how I could include that somehow in the design. I landed on making the seats of the chairs themselves appear as if they were floating within the structure of the chair. To do this, I slid the ¾” plywood into deep notches I had cut in the sides of the chair, and then filled any gaps with wood filler. Due to the length of the love seat, a 2 x 4 brace was added in addition to the notches to ensure its structural integrity. This brace went right under the seat and screwed into the center point of the X, making it virtually invisible. To make this furniture memorable and personable to my family, I designed a beautiful black vinyl emblem to go on the coffee table.