Easy Farmhouse Bench from Just 2 Boards

 

Hey Remodelaholics! I’m Crystal and I blog over at The Weathered Fox where I share tips for high style decorating on a low budget! I love sharing tutorials over here on Remodelaholic. In the past I’ve shown you how to build an easy rustic wall rack, and how to turn a thrifted chandelier into a farmhouse style chandelier with just some paint!

My favorite thing to do is to add farmhouse style to my home without breaking the bank.I love a good lumber tutorial because material is inexpensive, and easy to find. Plus it's super versatile and the raw material fits easily into the farmhouse style. Today's easy farmhouse bench build cost less than $20 in lumber, and took less than an hour to build! It's the perfect farmhouse addition to the #2x4andMore series going on this week. 

Check out the other 2x4andMore posts here, and be sure to subscribe by email or RSS and follow along over on Facebook and Instagram with #2x4andMore so you won’t miss any of these new tutorials!

The gray, distressed paint, the rough wood, and the cathedral style legs make this the perfect little farmhouse bench to add to any garden or porch! So, let me show you how to make this easy farmhouse bench for yourself!

How to Make an Easy Farmhouse Bench

Materials Needed:

• 2 – 2x8x8 boards
• Saw, or have the boards cut at your local hardware store
• Kreg Jig
• 2 inch  kreg screws – outdoor blue coated if you plan to put this bench outside
• jigsaw 
• pencil
• cardboard or paper
• multiple clamps – small and large 
• construction adhesive
• caulk gun
• drill 
• square bit tip to fit kreg screws
• choice of finish – paint, stain 
• Indoor/Outdoor sealer 

1.) Make the Cuts

For this project, you will need to make two cuts on each board. You will need to measure and cut two 18 inch pieces from each board. The 4 18 inch boards will be your legs, leaving the rest of the board to be your seat. These cuts are easily made with a miter saw or circular saw, or make it even easier and have the hardware store cut the boards for you. 

2.) Trace and Cut Leg Pattern

Use a scrap of cardboard to create a leg pattern, so both legs will match. To match mine, the half arch that I drew is about 13 inches at its peak and about 5 inches wide at the base. Trace the pattern onto each leg, then cut it out using a jigsaw.

 

You can use this opportunity to sand out any imperfections in your cuts. Or wait until later. 

 

3.) Add Pocket Holes 

Add pocket holes to one side of each leg using your Kreg Jig or other pocket hole system, as shown below.

 

It may have been overkill to add as many as we did, but we wanted it to be sturdy!

 

4.) Join Leg Parts Together

Add some construction adhesive, then clamp the two leg parts together, forming an arch. Be sure to wipe any excess adhesive from the joints.

Once you have your boards positioned and clamped securely, drive the Kreg screws through the pocket holes. Repeat these steps to create the other leg.  

5.) Create the Seat

Use the same steps to join the two seat boards together. Space your pocket holes 6 inches apart, and apply adhesive before adding the screws. 

6.) Attach the Legs to the Seat

We measured and marked 7 inches from the end of the seat on both side of the bench. Then, attach your legs in the same way: create pocket holes, add adhesive, clamp into place, and join with screws. Wait for the adhesive to dry before moving on to the finish. 

 

7) Choose your finish!

For this bench, I went with a chalk style paint in a light gray. I painted one coat, varying the thickness of the coat to create a distressed finish. In some areas I painted on an opaque coat, in other areas I used a drybrush technique to very lightly apply the paint just to the high areas of the wood. 

 

Once the paint was dry, I rubbed in a bit of a weathered wood stain all over the surface. This pulled out the grain of the wood, but also gave a bit of age to the color of the paint. For this technique, you don't want to have too much stain on your paper towel, a little goes a long way! And rub it in sort of like you would a wax. You don't want any extra stain left over on the surface. 

 

8) Once your stain has dried, apply an outdoor sealer to the bench if you're using it outdoors. If you intend to use it inside, a water based poly will do just fine. Two to three coats of the outdoor sealer will make sure your bench lasts for years. 

 

 

8) Find a home for your new bench!

I put mine in my garden! It makes for an inspiring place to sit, have a cup of coffee, and listen to the birds chirping. I think this easy farmhouse bench fits right in! 

 

If you love this easy farmhouse bench, I'd love for you to head over to my blog where I share so many other great farmhouse style ideas! Like my farmhouse bathroom remodel, my list of the best Fixer Upper style lights, or my thrifted candlestick makeover! 

 

 

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