You guys!  This has been such a QUICK & rewarding project!  If you have some chair backs, there’s no doubt you can build something like this too!

There’s sewing involved for the cushion but if that’s not an option for you there’s always ways around it – 2 large pillows could be used instead.

A nice lady from my church gave me some chair parts.  They’ve been sitting in my garage for a few months and it finally dawned on me that they’d make great sides to a bench.  I gathered some wood scraps that I would use to frame the sitting area.  I wanted a sturdy frame and found a shelf piece that was 1″-thick that would work perfectly along with some old bed slats.

I ripped the shelf piece into strips to make the rectangular box for the seat; attached together with glue and countersunk screws (plugged).  Next I attached the seat frame to the chair backs with glue and screws.

Next I glued and nailed small runner strips along the inside of the seat frame for the slats to rest.  I glued and nailed slats in place.

I thinned some tinted primer and added M-1 additive to help it flow through my spray gun and lay nicely on the wood; straining is important to get a clean spray and avoid clogs.

Every time I used my Critter Siphon Spray Gun I’m amazed at how much I love it.  It doesn’t look like much.. I guess that’s why it’s so surprising!  Get yours on Amazon!

After the first coat of paint I lightly sanded and sprayed again.

The woodworking part is over – lets move onto sewing!

I’m so glad I keep things because saving our old couch cushions in the attic really payed off!  I rummaged around my fabric stash for a soft linen-like fabric for the cushion cover and was thrilled I had something.  Not pictured is a thicker fabric I used to make the pillow form.

The pillow form is pretty straight forward: make a ‘pillow case’ the size you need and stuff it with stuffing until you get the fullness you want.  My form was a bit bulgy in the center and didn’t lay flat so I decided to pull the centers together using my long upholstery needle and upholstery thread – worked like a dream!

Next I made the outer pillow case with a button closure and ties on the bottom to tie onto the bench slats.

Done!

Happy DIY-ing!