Bench Tutorial

I'm going to start by saying that I missed photographing a few steps while I was building this bench. Between having my dad helping me and my kiddos fighting over a note pad, I was easily distracted.  But, the good news is, I used a tutorial from the blog Dear Lillie to make this bench, and she was excellent about photographing each step.  So please, check out her awesome, amazing, fabulous tutorial here!

There were several things that I had to change to make this bench work for my space.  First off, I needed it to be shorter in length so that it I could push it in comfortably.  I planned on this being the side that the kids would sit on, so I wanted them to be able to easily climb on to it and be able to draw, play legos, eat, ect. The other main thing that I did was leaving off a cushion.  I have a two year old and six year old and I just couldn't picture them sitting on an upholstered bench and not getting ketchup all over it.  So I decided to stain the top instead.  And I am so glad I did!  It really turned out better than I imagined it would.  Now, here's how I did it!

Here is my Supply List:
2- 1" x 8" x 44"
2- 1" x 3" x 42"

6- 1" x 3" x 12" (for the width & bracing)
4- 1" x 3" x 11" (for bracing)
Four pre-turned legs (I suggest a height of 15" or 16" for the legs)
1 box of 1 ¾” wood screws
Wood filler and putty knife
Sandpaper

Electric drill

Phillips screwdriver

Wine (optional)

Paint

Stain 

Polyurethane 

I started by laying out the frame.  (It was hot, 108 that day, so we worked inside.)

My dad drilled the holes in each end and screwed the 4 outer pieces together.

Then he screwed in the 11" brace, one for each end. (This is where the top will lay.)

This is what it looks like when you have the ends all screwed together.

Then we screwed in two more of the 11" braces in the middle of the frame as supports.

At this point the battery on my drill died and my dad decided to head home for the day.  While I waited for the drill to charge I used the wood filler to cover the screws, that way when they were painted you couldn't see them.

Once the drill was charged again I attached the legs.  I drilled a hole on each side of the corner and one through the top as well.  I wanted the legs to be very secure. (They are!)

This is where I messed up!  I forgot to photograph how I attached the top.  I used some of the left over bracing pieces to screw the top together, then I used shorter screws, so they don't go through the top, and screwed one through each corner.  My dad suggested I use L brackets to attach the top, which would have been great, but I didn't have any and I got impatient. 

Before I stained the top, I used my electric sander to smooth and round the edges of the bench.  With little kids running around, I was worried the pointed edge was a little dangerous.  I actually stained the top and painted the legs before I attached it to the base.  I used the same stain as I did on my dining table, but since it was on bare wood, it really soaked up right away.  I only needed one coat. When it dried, I used a coat of the poly in the antique flat finish. Then repeated with a second coat the next day.  I used my chalk paint & wax for the base.

Here's what it ended up looking like!

Like I said, my tutorial wasn't perfect, but you get the general idea!  If you have any questions about how I made the bench, leave me a comment and I'll get back to you right away!

Hope you all have an amazing week!