Decorate your patio with DIY repurposed furniture

If you love spending time outdoors and appreciate the green lifestyle, there are many ways to decorate your patio to reflect your personality. Repurposed furniture is an excellent way to build your own patio set and reduce your carbon footprint as you recycle readily available materials. If you are handy and have a few basic tools you can easily make unique outdoor furniture for your patio.

Although they can appear unsightly at first glance, all you need to make these pallets into your next D.I.Y. success story is a bit of sandpaper and some paint. You can create benches, individual seating and even coffee tables for that perfect, unique touch. Best of all, you get to do it all in your favourite colours for a custom finish. Depending on the size of your patio, you'll need either a few pallets or several. You can find them for sale online or even for free at grocery stores or shops around town.

1. Start by measuring your patio space. You want to make sure your piece will fit. To make a basic seating structure, you'll only need two pallets: one for the seat and one that will be split between the backing and the side supports.
2. The second pallet will be cut in half lengthwise. Set one half aside and cut the remaining section in half vertically. These will become your arm supports.
3. Cut your pallets down to size and sand off any rough edges. Not only will this make the piece more comfortable, but it also makes it easier to paint. Once the edges are sanded down, it's time to paint. Get creative, choose your favorite colours, do some stencilling or even layer the colours.
4. After the paint dries, it's time to join the pallets together. All you need for this is a screwdriver -- power tools work best - screws and angle brackets. Once you build your furniture, all that's left to do is throw on some cushions and admire your creation.

How many times have you driven around town and seen people throwing away old furniture? Some pieces might have a broken leg or a bad paint job, but all they need is some TLC and you can turn someone else's trash into your treasure. One of the most common trends is to turn headboards into patio benches, and it's very easy to do.

• To repurpose any piece of old furniture, simply replace any screws and level out the furniture if need be by adding supports to make it level.
• Sand the original paint off to make way for the new coat.
• You want to sand first to avoid peeling paint or unsightly bumps where the old paint rests.
• If you're going for a distressed look, all you have to do is a bit of sanding. However, some people like to paint it first then sand again. Just be careful not to sand too much as you'll compromise the sturdiness of the furniture.

Next time you think about throwing a piece of furniture out or happen upon someone else's furniture on the curb, take a minute to imagine what it could become. After all, most ideas are born out of imagination and someone taking matters into their own hands.