Make it with Kate

diy furniture

DIY Gaming Couch from Scrap Wood: Fall ORC Week 7

DIY Home Decor, DIY Woodworking, One Room Challenge

Week 7 of the fall one room challenge means the finishing touches! There is one week left until the final reveal of this game room makeover. One of the components I wanted to figure out most in this room was seating. I built this DIY gaming couch 100% from scrap wood in my garage, and it was easy!

This gaming couch is made out of scrap wood and is the perfect addition to a game room for kids, with seating for 5 in a small space

Build a DIY Gaming Couch

When we bought this house, the first thing we did was convert this media room off to the living room into a playroom.

This entailed ripping out existing built in media shelving and making my own built ins that could house board games and bins of kids toys. Luckily I saved the wood from those media shelves, because they made their way into a couch for that same space! I love a good repurposed project.

This room as a play room needed floor space that was open for play on the ground. It was filled with Magnatile towers (my very favorite kids toy) and marble runs and other works in progress all the time.

My kids have since gotten older and do less floor play, and more hanging out together playing board games and video games. So, with the transition of this room from a preschool playroom to an older gaming room, came the need for seating.

As is the case with most of my DIY woodworking projects here I like to do things on a budget, and use what I have.

How to Build the Gaming Couch

I scoured Pinterest looking for the perfect simplistic design that I could create that would not take up a lot of space and that would provide quite a bit of seating.

I landed on these plans for a Zig Zag Couch from Homemade Modern and it was perfect. It was low to the ground with a tilt up looking at the tv, perfect for gaming. BUT, it had a counter top back where 3 more bar stools can sit. This allows for 5 kids to hang out in this seating area that really doesn’t take up a lot of the room at all!

You can get the plans for the Zig Zag Couch here on their website, it has a detailed tutorial and cut list that is very easy to follow.

What scrap wood did I use?

When I tell you I used scrap wood, I mean I seriously used scrap wood. If you look through the plans, they use 2x4s, 2x10s and 3/4″ plywood. When pricing this out, it would have cost me close to $200 to build, which it why I turned to the leftovers that I had!

I used:

  • 3/4″ MDF board for the bottom braces
  • 2×6 for the back braces and the countertop braces
  • 3/4″ melamine for the bench seat
  • 1×2 common board for the back of the bench to make the seat a bit longer
  • 9″ media shelves for the seat back, counter top and the bottom front

That is a serious mash up of scrap wood. But, the measurements of the wood were consistent in their thickness which is what allowed for all the variation in type.

Plus, most of these boards are quite sturdy.

I followed the tutorial using just a circular saw to make most of the cuts, and my miter saw to make the 20° angle cuts on the back braces.

Then, I assembled the couch using 2.5″ construction screws and my drill and a brad nailer!

Finishing the DIY Couch

Once constructed, it was sturdy but looked rough.

I sanded the entire unit with 40 grit sandpaper which is very rough. Even the melamine board I sanded to help it take the paint.

Then, I used Kilz primer to prime the entire piece, and used my paint sprayer to paint the entire thing black.

It now looks like a cohesive unit, and not one that was pieced together out of scraps!

Making simple couch cushions

I like to save upholstery foam from various projects that I flip, and my friend graciously gave me the foam from outdoor cushions she was replacing.

So, guess what else got made out of scraps??

I’ll show you a very simple way to make a no-sew couch cushion.

What you need:

  • 2″ or 3″ upholstery foam
  • batting
  • spray adhesive
  • 1/4″ plywood (or hardboard if placing it on solid wood like this build)
  • staple gun
  • upholstery fabric

How to make the seat base cushion

Cut the piece of plywood to fit the seat base, slightly smaller than the base of the couch.

Use spray adhesive to attach the foam to the seat base.

Fill in any corners or empty spaces with poly fil.

Cover the foam and poly fil with batting to smooth out the foam top.

Wrap the entire thing with upholstery fabric and flip over.

Staple the fabric and batting to the underside of the plywood (now facing up) doing the sides first.

Once the sides are attached, trim excess batting and fabric at the corners and staple to the wood.

You should have a simple bench seat cushion that you can place right on the couch base!

I used velcro to keep the cushion from sliding around the base of the couch.

I made one of these for the seat and one for the back of the couch.

This gaming couch is made out of scrap wood and is the perfect addition to a game room for kids, with seating for 5 in a small space

This was the perfect addition to the game room makeover!

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