Outdoor Arm Chair
With temperatures on the rise it’s time to get outside and enjoy the day. Or maybe relax outside after a long day. Either way, you’ll be very relaxed in these outdoor arm chairs. Also referred to as deep seating, these chairs are very comfortable and will fit most standard outdoor deep seating cushions you find in the big box stores or online.
We were able to build these outdoor arm chairs out of cedar for under $150 each (cushions included). If you wanted to save even more you could go with pressure treated lumber in which case you could build one for under $100 (cushions included).
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Required Tools
Materials
- Outdoor Deep Seating Cushion (Amazon / Home Depot)
- Qty 3 – 2 x 4 x 8′ Cedar lumber
- Qty 5 – 1 x 4 x 8′ Cedar board
- 2-1/2″ Kreg Blue-Kote Pocket Screws (Coarse)
- 1-1/4″ Kreg Blue-Kote Pocket Screws (Coarse)
- 1-1/4″ Exterior Wood Screws
- 2-1/2″ Exterior Wood Screws
- Wood Glue
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Dimensions
Cut List
How to build an Outdoor Arm Chair
Questions? Comments?
As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment below and especially don’t forget to post pictures of your finished products in the comments! ENJOY!
Looks like an update to the Belvedere Lounge Chair, and it looks good. Much sturdier. Quick question, what is the angle for the seat supports in Step 1? It’s not in the plans.
Ben, the ends are cut at a 5-degree angle. The plans show it in the cut list. I was looking for this, too.
Roger that! Thanks!
Thanks Ben! And he’s right, the seat is angled 5 degrees and the back is another 10 degrees. Those cuts are shown in the cut list.
LOL I hate adirondack chairs – the angle of the back seat just does not work for me. But I like these. Thanks for a well written and detailed tutorial !
Thanks Mary! These are much easier to build too!
Thanks for the design @Jamison Rantz:disqus. I’m gonna make two when I am done with the garden planter table I’ve got in my driveway. Two questions for the group:
– Anyone have issues with the strength of the connection of the back slats to the base slats at the back/bottom? I’m thinking of sneaking another 2×2 cross beam at the bottom to connect the back slates
– Advice tips on stain/sealant for maximum weather proofing? Would some of my leftover BEHR all-weather, all-in-one, semi-transparent stain, and sealant work well? Or should I use a non-color sealant?
Thanks, John
No problem! Be sure to share some pictures when you are done. As for your questions, the connection at the bottom of the back slats is plenty strong, there isn’t much stress at the point. And for mine I just danish oil since I built them from cedar, however I would recommend a spar urethane, such as Varathane crystal clear. I used this product on my front door. It has UV protection and holds up great to the weather.
Here are my finished chairs! I tweaked the design a little bit. I also made my own cushions, saving me about $200. Thanks so much for the plans!
? China
Those turned out great, China! And making your own cushions to save $200 is exactly the kind of move I respect. Thanks for sharing the photos. Be safe and happy building.
Loved these plans! I modified them to be taller for people with bad knees, and added an extra brace at the back.
I also used 2x4s for the arm & back on the second one.
Kris these turned out great! I like the modification. Great job!
I am in the process of building two of these awesome chairs.
Just double-checking: the 1” x 4” x 29 1/2” cut is actually 1” x 4” x 25” for the back support?
That is correct Lisa, and I have updated the post and the printable PDF to reflect that now. Happy building! Post a picture when you are done!
Project complete! Thanks for the great plans. I decided to purchase the smaller cushions for now since cushions are pretty expensive. I’ll keep my eyes on good sales! These work great, though. I really like how the chairs have slight angles (5 and 10 degrees). To me, these are more comfortable than adirondack chairs.
These turned out awesome! Great color choice on the chairs. The cushions are pricey, but if you wait until the end of summer you can find some good sales. But I think the smaller ones work and look just as good!
The set came out really nice. I’m thinking of building the chairs sofa and table. Between the wood and the cushions the $ add up fast.
Did you go with cedar over pine because of strength or finish?
Any hints on howto save some more $?
Finished a pair of these earlier in the summer! Can’t wait to add the loveseat on this summer!
The set of chairs came out really nice. I’m thinking of building the chairs, sofa and table. Between the wood and the cushions the $ add up fast.
Did you go with cedar over pine because of strength or finish?
Any hints on how to save some more $?
Can these chairs be made out of PVC board? If so any suggestions on the 2×4 being replaced with 1×4 ?
Thanks for the inspiration. I’m a beginner DIYer, this actually my second project to date. I added my touch to it. Hope you don’t mind. Thanks again!
Thanks for the plans to get started on these. I adjusted the width by a few inches to squeeze the cushions I had and then bumped back supports closer to the front so the cushion also hang slightly over the edge. Overall very easy plans to follow. I’m debating doing a 3 wide couch and adding center supports but haven’t decided if that would be better than just doubling what I already made. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Great plan, went together without a hitch. I did add a little more support to the bottoms.
Two down and two to go. My wife loves them. We are tall, so I added 14″ to the height. Thank you for the easy to follow plan. This is the first thing I have built with wood.
Am I the only one that accidentally cut this on a regular angle with my miter and not a bevel angle? I realized afterwards how silly and how it made no sense (I felt really dumb lol) but it was kind of hard to see on the cut list picture which way was right.. I kind of wish that were a little clearer. I love the chair though after getting the cut right!
Will the seat accommodate a cushion that is 26.5” long?
I’m currently building your H-Leg table and matching benches. I’m considering these arm chairs for the seats at the head of the table. Can I simply add approximately 6″ to each leg to bring it up to the right height for a dining chair?
Thanks for the pandemic project!
I just put together one of these. I should have paid attention to what people were saying about it being short. My wife tried it and she laughed that she felt like she was a kid again. Granted I don’t have the cushion in yet. decided to take it apart and raised the bottom boards about 3 inches. I hope that will help a bit without throwing off the arms too much. Otherwise I have to make longer legs.
Also, I made the 1x4s by cutting 2x4s down the middle on the long end (both sides half way) with a table saw. That saved me a lot on the material cost since a single cedar 1×4 was going to cost a bit more than just a single 2×4. I also ended up only needing 5-2x4s total since I cut the extra left over pieces into 1x4s.
Update: Wife liked it a lot better with the cushion and the 3 inch lift and I did too. The arm height still felt normal as well.