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  • Bench seating makes a backyard, patio or deck practical and inviting, and turns an awkward corner or space beneath a window into a comfortable place to sit. Benches can be intricate, ornate pieces of furniture or rustic, simple projects. They can be made from the best wood or from found objects scavenged from friends and neighbors or the trash. With a little bit of creativity and thoughtful planning, anyone can build useful and comfortable bench seating.

    Perimeter Benches

    Build long benches to line the perimeter of a large deck with basic carpentry tools. A sander or sand paper, a tape measure, hammer and nails, saw horses and a table saw are all that's needed to turn 10-foot planks and 4-inch by 4-inch landscape timbers into attractive, backless bench seating all around the inside of a deck.

    Easy Garden Benches

    Get creative and build some easy garden benches to sit and enjoy summer in the garden. Make a great place to sit with a large log without any carpentry at all. Four large cinder blocks and a sturdy plank of wood are another simple option without carpentry.

    Bed Benches

    Purchase pre-turned chair or table legs at a local lumber yard or salvage them from old furniture to make a bench for the foot of the bed. A simple platform atop attractive legs with sturdy reinforcement and an upholstered cushion top make for beautiful bedroom bench seating.

    Kitchen Bench Seating

    Kitchen bench seating can be as simple or elaborate as your budget and imagination allow. Find plans for building benches against the wall, booth-style with high backs and sides, or plain benches for underneath an antique or thrift shop table. Have fun with cushions in fabrics to match the kitchen colors.

    Storage Bench Seating

    Builders with intermediate to advanced carpentry skills can build useful bench seating that doubles as storage. Leave the top plain or include cushions for comfort and design. A built-in storage bench inside or outside on a deck or patio is a practical and useful furniture item.

    Bonfire Bench Seating

    It's easy to throw together simple bench seating for informal outdoor areas like campsites or around bonfires. Plastic milk crates and plastic utility buckets turned upside down, large logs and even large rocks make good bases for planks or long logs or fallen trees cut in half lengthwise. Old closet doors can double as bench tops with saw horses or other found items.

    Source:

    "Building Garden & Patio Furniture: Classic Designs, Step-by-Step Projects"; Editors of Sunset Books, 2002

    Free Bench Plans

    Simple Garden Benches

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