Lakeland Mills 4-Foot Cedar Log Love Seat, Natural

We had a loveseat that needed new cushions and those cost a lot just for replacements. We also love our trips to Colorado and the outdoors. This loveseat was a great purchase, love it. We weren't sure if we were going to stain it, I think it looks good without stain, but I ended up staining it and think it looks great. I used home depot behr semi transparent "red cedar" stain with a small brush. I split the work into 2 sessions it takes a while to get everything. I'd recommend staining it before assembly but heed their instructions and don't get stain where it connects together. The joints are tight, the stain might make it hard to connect. I used a ryobi 18v cordless drill to assemble and it had plenty of power. I'm somewhat handy and thought this was easy to assemble. Great loveseat very sturdy.

We use these products on our deck.

EXCELLENT piece of furniture. Very solid - it bears 500 lbs without apparent effort. The joints are essentially mortise and tenon style joints with screws being used as drawbore pins, which is an excellent way to do things. I am in the process of putting several coats of pure tung oil on mine prior to a shellac finish and after sanding, and it really brings out the grain. The cedar is a softwood, but very rot resistant, and should be very durable the way I am finishing it as a piece of outdoor furniture. The finish on the circular pieces is good - it was cut with something very sharp, surface finish is at least as good as a 600 or 800 grit sanding job - although there is also a bit of tearout. The finish on the slats is a lot cruder but its easy to sand them to bring them into spec. I will post a picture of my unit after I finish working on it.

Overall, I like this piece. It's very rustic and a bit rough on some of the logs, but smooth and pretty much sliver-free around the seat, back and armrest areas. Several of the logs had long cracks in them - it explains that this is normal and doesn't harm the structural integrity. If you want a completely finished look, this is not the chair for you. If you want something natural, that weathers well and will fit into an outdoor, rustic setting - this will work. The chair is comfortable enough, but the seat is not at all deep (and I'm 5' 3" female). Also, this was a beast to assemble. You may get slivers as you're putting it together. If you don't have some strength (I don't and had to ask my friend to help me assemble it) and an electric screwdriver, then I suggest you get one or borrow one if you buy this. You could do it without the power tool, but it would be painful to hand drill in all of the screws. It's sort of a lincoln-log assembly and you'll need either a rubber mallet, or a hammer with a wood piece (as is suggested in the assembly directions). The screws are provided to reinforce the joints - except for 2 places, no screw holes are drilled. It was an effort assembling this furniture. Worth it, but a real pain. Just think RUSTIC and unfinished. I really like the look of it and it's a small and comfortable size. Two people can fit in this, but not two large people--maybe a couple of medium to small people. Mostly what we'll use it for is for one person, sitting sideways on it with an outdoor pillow. For that, it's perfect.

The UPS truck pulled up in front of my house at 1:15 this afternoon. By 3PM I had the bench fully assembled, screws and all, and sitting under my cedar trees out back, and that was with a number of phone calls interrupting me. I didn't get any splinters either. Here's what you'll need to get the bench together:A rubber malet, a socket wrench and a regular phillips head screw driver. A drill to start a few holes wouldn't be a bad idea either but you don't need it.If you're anything like me, rather than agonize over the instructions, just look at a picture of what the bench looks like when fully assembled and let that be your guide. Were it me selling these benches I'd have a youtube video available demonstrating exactly how to get the frame in place before any bolts are tightened or screws screwed into place.A couple of the cracks are pretty wicked but, where it'll be, exposed to the elements and under my trees, that'll be the least of the benches problems. It's just what I needed.

My order arrived quickly and in excellent shape. Assembly was quick and easy and everything aligned as expected. Assembly really took little effort. Adjusting things so all of the feet were on the ground at the same time was just plain simple. Love seats assemble just like the chairs, only the seat and back are bigger.The love seats are perfectly sized and the rustic look is perfect for any layout.All in all the whole process related to selection, ordering, and assembling was a breeze. Going to stain them once the rain stops and I will be sitting in them shortly thereafter.

What could have been an easy assembly is made annoyingly difficult because of poor instructions and the failure to identify the left and right legs. A simple "L" and "R" stamped on the bottom of the appropriate leg would have cut the assembly time in half. Instead, you're given poorly illustrated diagrams which leave you with no option other than trial and error putting the sides together. I finally gave up following the instructions and used my intuition, things got better from then on. Aside from that, the chair is well made, sturdy and very comfortable.