My post will discuss how I came to do a DIY Pottery Barn bench and show you that you can do it too! I do not have measurements or step by step instructions, however if you follow along and copy the pictures you could create one that is similar. I decided to choose the most simplest design I could find.
Beautiful weather is here so out comes the patio furniture! My husband and I recently purchased a beautiful 86 inch outdoor dining table, however could not find a matching bench. I wanted a bench over chairs because I knew that a bench could fit perfectly under the table which would save us some space on the patio. I searched all of the stores and perused online websites to see if I could buy one.
Finally, I came across a perfect bench at Pottery Barn, however it was $600! That was way more than I paid for my table. After looking at the images, I figured that I could make it on my own!
How I Made the Outdoor DIY Pottery Barn Bench
From the basic knowledge I learned from the carpentry classes I took in high school, I figured we would need 2x4s, screws, a drill, saw, face-mount joists, and wood stain and brushes.
I wanted the bench to be 2 inches under the length of the table so there would be no overhang. To ensure I had everything I needed, I drew up a plan of how I wanted the bench to look. When I went to Lowe’s, I had the staff associate cut the pieces of the wood for me to the measurements that I needed.
Building the Outdoor Bench
Once I got home with the cut pieces of wood, I began working on the seat of the bench. I made sure that the 3 pieces of wood were evenly apart from each other, and then nailed 3 short pieces to them underneath so that they couldn’t move. Once that was secured, I started assemble the legs, using nails and metal joists to reinforce the wood and ensure its sturdiness.
As a reminder, I am definitely not a professional, so I am probably not using correct terminology. Remember, Jill-of-all-trades here, master of none.
I shall continue now.
Because of the bench being so long, legs on the ends would not suffice. I needed a long piece of wood at the bottom to make sure it was strong enough to hold people! One boo-boo was that I did not measure the height of where I placed that long bottom piece. The placement of that piece caused it to hit the table legs, thus defeating the purpose of the bench going under the table. Out went the nails and up went the bottom piece of wood.
I then sanded it all down to remove any pieces that were rough after I built the bench.
Next, I stained the wood with a stain that matched the table as close as possible. I did not add a polyurethane to it since the table itself had an unfinished look to it.
That completes my DIY Outdoor Bench project! It took me 2 days to complete, and ONLY COSTED ME $110! That is much better than the Pottery Barn $600 bench!
