Grass Lawn Chair Couch

This is the best alternative to lawn furniture ever! All of our friends and family love to sit and enjoy our grass couch. For me, there is nothing like a late night beer under my apple tree while gazing up at the stars on my grass couch (with a chorus of tree frogs singing)! So, I thought I would share this wonderful joy with all that are looking for an interesting alternative to lawn chairs and want to be as GREEN as possible! I hope you enjoy!~

Step 1 Find a Friend

So, I would suggest finding a partner and some old building materials. I got my silly man snack husband!

We recycled some old bricks in the yard. Many times people give them away. Word search bricks on craigslist if you don't have any. It is a great way to recycle what might go in a land fill! These bricks have been sitting in the back of the yard for 20 years or or so.

By the way, brick is the best option because it holds moisture and air which will keep the couch soil very healthy! Plus, it will drain well unlike concrete.

Comments

[rikkiesix]

Darn man. This is by far the coolest thing i have ever seen in my life. You will never have to take your garden chairs in for the winter and they can't fly off to the neighbours. Make a second across it and put a table in the middle. hehe Greetings from Belgium Erik

[jblanton1]

I've seen people make forms for casting lawn furniture out of concrete. Those definitely don't get blown around by anything short of an F5 tornado... You also don't move them very easily, so wherever you place them, you better like it...

[got2bskilled]

Wow- Belgium~ Greetings, and thank you Erik~

[rikkiesix]

Your very welcome. Cheers. Erik

[theRIAA]

this is awesome, have you ever considered making it bigger? A large one would me great, though I'm sure this is comfortable. 5*

[got2bskilled]

Thanks! Well, I am thinking of making another grass project..... perhaps a coffee table with legs... if only I could find the right materials for the job. Any suggestion would be great! LOL~

[jblanton1]

Make it out of rebar and leave a grid network for kudzu to grow through.

[Madrigorne]

use a stump!

[ArcticChill]

You could use a vined plant and let it grow up and around the table(stone), and trim it every so often.

[Kevvixx]

You could make a lot of things with this idea! A table, chair, pool, pool table, and much more! You just gave me a lot of ideas.

[jblanton1]

You must live in an area that doesn't have fire ants yet... I can remember when I was a kid, back before the fire ant infestation, how we could just lay on the grass and not get bit by anything. Not so these days...

[NaturalCrafter]

The bricks are such a pretty color. Hope next season you make a raised bed out of them and you can cross stack them so they are thick enough (the length of the brick) to hold up to being layered about 4 to 6 bricks high. No cement needed then. Put the soil into the center and toss in your coffee grounds, banana skins etc and grow frilly leafy greens on the top. (Sorry! Compulsive gardener in me)

[thirtyfivefox]

watering plants at dusk or night can promote disease... i've read that it is best to water in the morning before dawn which gives the seeds ample time to soak up as much water as needed but without keeping the seeds wet long enough for mold or disease to grow off of them. Your way clearly worked for you though, although a person using a less disease resistant strain of grass may not have as much success. Very cool 'ible!

[tbone121]

this reminds me of those chia pets,

[Minthe]

Beautiful! I'm thinking English Ivy with little wild flowers in the back

[deathpanda]

lol i just noticed the beer bottle in the first pic i might make a whole lawn garden grass set

[thedubbedmime]

hmmm.... I like this but I want to try it with "moss" . it can gross almost anywhere AND you don't have to cut it!

[thedubbedmime]

**grow**

[pdub77]

for some, that could be a "slip". . .

[cory.smith]

Thats just plain cool. Permanent; but still cool. Do you cut it with hedge trimmers or use the weed eater? Cory

[got2bskilled]

Thanks!- both actually~ :-)

[drummonkey92]

that is amazing! what a great idea!

[charoweb]

This is AWESOME! I'm already planning to build my own. Looking forward to your next great idea!

[iectyx3c]

Like it. Original and nicely 'ibled. The brick drainage pattern is clever and saves bricks too. I've seen a design from TerraGrass using cardboard to shape the soil. Richard Reames calls himself an arborsculptor and wrote a book How to Grow a Chair. This Old House reported on sod furniture framed over wood stakes. Youtube has a funny sod couch video:

[got2bskilled]

AWESOME!!!! Theirs looks better than mine! :-) I wonder what kind of sof that is, LOL!

[Grimarr]

The thing with sod is that it can be laid down sorta like fondant on a cake, so it's easier to make a couch with a well-defined shape with it than piling dirt up and growing grass from seed.

[got2bskilled]

VERY Valid Opinion~

I would agree- except buying sod per sq.ft. is rather expensive compared to buying seed. At least here it is. I have a very tight budget! And $9 is all I am willing to spend on a grass project.~ It is a individual decision though. There are several factors to consider with sod.

To my knowledge, sod is sold only at a commercial sod nursery in bulk for contractors and such (here). Also, sod on brick or concrete alone is not a permanent solution (here)- as it will fry in the intense sun. We need several inches of soil to keep it cool and defuse the heat, as well as keep the moisture in the brick and soil. Plus, keeping a few inches of soil encourages worms and bugs to thrive and keep the soil healthy. When sod is planted even on sandy clay soil in the summer, it turns yellow in time and dies here. This is an issue with the local new developments around my area.

Sod is great if you have the money and the right climate/ soil/ right time of year to plant. I don't really have any of those! LOL~ I would certainly suggest sod to people who can do it- but where I am, sod is not an option. Plus, what can I say?- I am a cheap skate!! :-)

[Grimarr]

All perfectly valid. Of course if I were going to be making a sod couch I'd be using a layer of soil under the brick to keep the stuff alive, and it is expensive (or can be maybe) I know that a long time ago my dad was covering over a bare spot in the lawn where there used to be a fire pit, he got a single roll of sod that was just big enough to cover the space with a little extra at a local lawn & garden place.

[Grimarr]

Make that "over the brick" not under. @_@

[got2bskilled]

I guess I could play the "girl card" and flirt with a landscaping crew....

~Hey cutie, have any left over sod in that truck?~ wink wink*

Well, maybe I'll save the girl card for a speeding ticket or something.

Maybe the I can play "the girl with a cold beer and pizza card".....

Better yet- I am calling you dad!~ Thanks Grimarr! :-) LOL~

[LoganSix]

You could grow your own sod. But, you would obviously have to start that before the couch. I'm sure someone has written an article on how to harvest sod without having to rent equipment.

[shilohjim]

It looks llike a cool place to sit but what about grass stains?

[got2bskilled]

Hummm, perhaps that could happen if I were to have a serious make out session on the couch~ so I better start working towards that ASAP! So far, no exciting grass stains to tell of.

Grass stains will be the new hicky of our "Green Generation"! Gives a new meaning to landscaping~ BREW HA HA HA~

[Gonazar]

LOL, at the first photo, i didn't know what I was looking at! It's a Cameo Couch! :P

[jvb551]

the rubber snake is a nrw one to me thanks

[jvb551]

great idea thanks

[zimbu_monkeygod]

Please let us know how this holds up. I think that pounding some rebar through the holes would help the couch to hold its shape.

[got2bskilled]

REBAR!!!! You are so clever!~ I wish I had thought of that!!! Great tip! :-) I could do so much more.

[jaythedogg]

That... Is... AWESOME! Great idea & Instructable! Thanks for sharing. :)

[guitarman63mm]

...or you could sit on the bench to the right of the tree :p 5 stars, great 'ible!