Tuesday, January 8, 2013

DIY Rustic Farmhouse Bench

And now we have a place to sit...


One afternoon I came home from work and there was a bench ready to sand & stain...

It took him just a couple of hours to build. He used plans from Ana White's site just like we did last month when we shared our DIY Farmhouse Table.

It's perfect.
Actually everyone who comes over now says "it's so big!" Well, who wants to have half your butt hanging off the bench while you are having dinner? (we do not have tiny buns in this house...) Not me, so we made it larger than the plans called for. And longer, because our dining area is a pretty large area.


Right now we have kind of a hodgepodge of chairs going on. I sort of like it, but have a few changes in mind, and am on the lookout on craigslist & auctions.

I wanted chairs on one side and also on each end. Do you think we need a bench for the other side too? I vote chairs. Adam votes bench. Scout also votes bench.

Close up shows the slight color difference.

It took us about an hour to sand & stain it. Then of course a few coats of poly.
To stain it, we used a mix of Classic Grey & Jacobean by Minwax. Although, this time I added a little more classic grey...so the color varies from the table by just a tad. Oh well.


What have you built from Ana White's plans? 
Do you think we need a bench for the other side or stick with chairs? 
Do you mix your stains to get the look you want? If so do you always measure correctly? I just kind of throw stuff together. oops.

16 comments:

  1. Love the bench for when my big butt comes over. I am torn. I love the idea of a bench on one side and chairs on the other, but I also love, all chairs. I guess I am no help at all.
    Love,
    Aunt Mo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great idea to make it bigger! More comfortable and more stable. I kinda like the idea of chairs...butt another bench sure would look pretty.

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  3. LOVE this!!!! I vote bench one side, chairs the other :)

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  4. I vote bench on one side and chairs on the other!

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  5. This is so cute! I am a big fan of a mixture of chairs and bench :) We haven't built anything from Ana White's plans, but now I think we need to!!

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    Replies
    1. I like the mixtured look too Whitney! You should, it was so easy to follow and even make changes!

      Delete
  6. Chairs. I grew up with a double bench table. It's sometimes awkward when guests are over to be all smushed up against one another.

    I like the extra width in the bench. It's might pretty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will use that tip in my argument for chairs on one side!

      Delete
  7. I think chairs and a bench. That way it gives people an option plus I like the look of both used together.
    I have a small bench of Ana White's on the hubby's project list!

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  8. How hard and expensive was it to build the bench? If it wasn't too much trouble I'd say make another for the other side to give yourself some breathing room to find the PERFECT chairs. Then you can always use the bench elsewhere once you find the prefect chairs? It would also give you more options - double benches for when lots of family comes over who don't mind scootching up together (because you can fit more people on a bench as long as they're friendly!).

    I like one bench side one chairs if the dining table is in a room where people might want to sit backwards on the bench (eg a combined living room diner) but I like symmetrical in a dedicated dining room. Just personal preference! It also depends how many older people you regularly have for dinner – I'd say they need chairs.

    Either way I loooove the bench!

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  9. The bench looks fantastic! I've never tried mixing stains before, but now I'm intrigued by the idea. Your mix turned out great! I also like the idea of chairs on one side to add a little more personality (if that's the right word).

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The bench looks fantastic! I've never tried mixing stains before, but now I'm intrigued by the idea. Your mix turned out great! I also like the idea of chairs on one side to add a little more personality (if that's the right word).

    Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    ReplyDelete

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