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If you love to sit in your garden and enjoy the cool breezes, and sunshine, then you are aware of the drawbacks that folding chairs and loungers have. A garden seat that you build yourself can eliminate the drawbacks and have a work of art to add beauty to your garden.
Garden seats can be as simple as a large stump that has been leveled, or as complex as woven wood with seat cushions. You are the ultimate designer and have the final say in what is attractive to you. The cost can be very minimal depending upon what your finished seat will look like. The main concern will be the seat's ability to withstand the depredations of sunlight, and rain.
You can enhance your seats charm of course if you allow it to weather naturally with no effort on your part to decrease the fading, and splintering of wood caused by exposure to sunlight, and rain. On the other hand you may wish to preserve your garden seat's original beauty with varnish, polyurethane, or paint, the choice is yours. If you decide to use a finish on your seat you will need to be aware that it will need to be refinished yearly to keep the original look.
Your seat's height should be compatible with your leg length, simply put, you can have a customized seat that will be one of the most comfortable you have ever used. The average chair seat is 20 inches high, unfortunately not everyone's legs are the same length. To find a good height for you, then measure your leg from the back of your knee to the floor, without shoes on.
To determine the area of the seat, decide if you would like a bench seat or perhaps a cluster of individual seats scattered throughout your garden. You will want to make your seat about 17 or 18 inches deep, and at least that wide. When deciding upon the width plan on about 25 inches per person if you want a bench seat for more than one person.
If you want a back to your seat then you will need to decide how high, and how it is going to be made. You can have a simple bench with no armrests or back. Armrests should rise no more than 8 inches from the seat for a comfortable fit. The back can be almost any height that you find attractive and comfortable.
When you build your seat the simplest is a stump that has been leveled and sanded smooth with a coat of polyurethane to protect it. Or a simple plank of wood with X legs on each end painted to match your garden or house. If you want to get more complex you could build a seat with branches trimmed from trees, without adding any type of finish. Just be sure that if you do decide to use tree branches that you trim them well and that you use branches that are at least 2inch in diameter for safety's sake. If you are good with concrete you could even build one from concrete. First making the concrete forms and then pouring. You would have to be sure to smooth the inside of the forms to get a smooth finish.
How ever you decide to make your garden seat, you can be assured that it is a one of a kind and will add to your enjoyment of your garden.
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