Hey hey guys!  Happy FRIDAY!

I love the weekend.  That’s all.  Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest to keep up with all of our projects!

I am so please with how this last project turned out!  I have been itching to build an upholstered ‘something’ in my house which led me to this!

DIY Upholstered Bench

How fun is that?  This is such a simple build!  You can download there free plans HERE, or by clicking on the button below.  I will walk you through the whole build below like always!  I had our good friend Jay of Jay’s Custom Creations put my design into a printable plan for you guys… He is awesome!  Make sure to check his site out too!

Print Free Plans DIY Upholstered Bench

So… let’s talk about this fabric!  I sort of kind of love it.  I found it on my very favorite fabric store…

Online Fabric Store

You can check out the fabric HERE!

I started by cutting the plywood for this product.  The bottom piece of plywood has squares cut out for the legs.  I used my Ryobi Jig Saw for this part.

Ryobi Cordless Jig Saw

I started by tracing the squares on each corner.

trace square on bench

Then, I cut one line like this…

first jig saw cut

Next, I cut the second line and that’s your square!

Cut corners of bench with jig saw

I did all four corners and moved on to the pocket holes.   I used my K5 Kreg Jig for this part.  We get asked all the time which Kreg Jig we use.  Both of us used the K4 model for over two years before upgrading to the K5 model.  They are both amazing, but the K5 has some new features making it even more user friendly and efficient.  You can see that model HERE on Amazon!

I used 3/4″ pocket holes for all of the holes on the bottom shelf.

Kreg Jig K5

You will put pocket holes on all 4 sides.

bottom of bench pocket holes

My next step was attaching the trim pieces.  Our plans show the sizes of these, but I would remeasure on each side to get the exact length for this part.  Measure twice… Cut once. 😉

You will attach the trim through the pocket holes.  I also added a thin line of Gorilla Wood glue to all of my joints on this part.

attaching pocket holes

Make sure to also add your pocket holes to the ends of the trim before attaching them.  I speak from experience on this part…. Totally forgot.  Oops!  I had to go back with my Kreg R3 Jig to add the trim pocket holes on this part.  I would have saved lots of time doing it the right way the first time!  You will see in the photo below that my trim pieces are missing my pocket holes.  Darnit.

Corner of bench

Once you have the trim pieces added, you will attach your legs!  Those legs….  I LOVE them!

I worked with Osborne Wood to design the legs for this bench.  I love how they turned out!  You can buy the legs for your own bench HERE! I used knotty pine for mine making the legs under $17 a piece… Babam!

I attached mine with a little help from my Kreg Right Angle clamp.  This thing is so great.  It’s like having an extra set of hands.  One end fits inside of a pocket hole and the other arm clamps to your other surface holding everything tight together.

Right Angle Clamp Kreg

Building and upholstered bench

I also added Gorilla Wood Glue to all of my joints.

My final step was adding my top runners.  These will all get pocket holes that face up and on each end.  You will use the pocket holes  on the ends to attach to the legs, and you will later use those other pocket holes to attach the bench top.

pocket holes for bench

Once I had all 4 legs attached, I gave the thing one coat of Varathane stain in Early American and let it dry!

stain bed before distressing

I added some Vaseline to the stained bench using THIS method I shared here!

After doing that I painted the whole thing using a Sherwin Williams color called Antique White and let it dry really good!

Paint bench before distressing

Now for the top!

I started with my piece of plywood.

wood for bench

Next, I covered it with a  piece of furniture foam from Online Fabric Store.  THIS is the foam that I used.  You don’t have to cut it at all… It comes the perfect size and ready to go.

how to build a bench

It will lay right on top of the plywood like this…

Foam for upholstered bench

Next, I covered this with a thin piece of batting.  This will just soften the edges a bit when I cover it with fabric.

upholster a bench

Next I laid my fabric on the ground good side down and turned the whole bench piece on top of it with the batting facing down.

I used my 18V Ryobi Airstrike Stapler to pull back the edge of the short side and attach it to the wood board.  I used 1/2″ staples.

Ryobi Airstrike Nail Gun

You want to pull snug but evenly as you are doing this part.

Reupholster a bench

After doing the short sides I moved to my long sides and did the same thing.  This will leave your corners loose and open!

I take my hands and fold them up a bit like an accordion and attach the corners down with staples like this…

Upholster corner of blog

The extra fabric on your corners can be cut so it’s not thick!

The bottom will look a bit like this!

How to upholster a bench

No perfection needed people! 🙂

Before attaching it to the bench, I used my Ryobi Corner Cat sander to go over the edges of the bench.  Wherever you put the Vaseline, the paint will just sand right off.

Distress Paint with a Ryobi Corner Cat

Now attach the bench top to the bench!  I turned everything upside down for this part and used 1.25″ pocket hole screws through the bench pocket holes and into the cushion.

Attach top of bench

Once you have it all attached it’s time for nail heads!  THESE are the nail heads that I used also found on Online Fabric Store!

Nail Heads for bench

I used exactly 3 bags of nails for my bench.  I started by pushing them into the wood bench top.

Attach nail heads

I used THIS upholstery hammer to tap them firmly into place.

Upholstery Hammer

Attach nail heads to bench

Once you have tapped them all into place, you are set!

Here she is all finished up!

DIY Upholstered Bench

Upholstered Bench DIY

Free Furniture Plans - DIY Upholstered Bench

How fun?  I love how just a little fabric can add so much to a space!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Let me know if you have any questions at all!

~Whitney

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22 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for sharing your plans for this bench!! I just finished making this bench and it turned out so well! And it’s a perfect addition to our entryway. Again thank you so much!

  2. I know this is super old, but I’m mid project and confused. Here it says to trace the squares on the legs onto the plywood. That gives you 2 3/4 inch squares. The printable says they squares are 1 3/4 inch. I traced and cut, so I have 2 3/4 inch squares. Is there anyway to fix this?! Please help!

  3. Could you make this without the bottom shelf?? Would it be sturdy enough? I want to make a bench for the end of my bed

  4. I made this bench because I like the shoe storage underneath. I decided to go with a stained top instead of fabric. I love white paint and stain with each other. I did everything the same as the article except for the top which is nothing more than 2×4’s which I dimensioned on the jointer, planer and table saw. I love it.

  5. Thanks for suggesting a place to find the upholstery foam! I was struggling to find an affordable place to order from! How much fabric did you need for this project?

  6. This may be a silly question, but how do you know how big to cut the corner for the legs? I have a set of legs already (yeah!) but they are the kind that screw in the top. But I would still want to cut out the bottom piece so the shelf is flush. Any suggestions???

  7. Wow! That is a DIY must do!! Can’t wait to get to the lumber store & order my fabric…
    I must say (and have been wanting to say this for a while now) you two are the most inspirational “build like a girl” women around. Ever since I found your blog about a year or so ago, it has made me want to build & create like never before. I just treated myself to a sliding compound miter saw … nothing I’d ever “treat” myself to before Shanty-2-Chic. So thank you for the inspiration & filling my limited free time with great builds/projects.

  8. I would love to know the cost of the project, minus the fabric. I did not see it posted and usually you state the cost of your projects. Thanks so much!

  9. OMG!! This is hilarious, I saw a bench almost identical to this on PB.com and I thought to myself that would be so easy to make…have Osborne Wood make the legs, add some simple boards, upholstery, nail heads, viola!! LOL!!! And then I happened to check your website because I hadn’t in a few days (and yes I can only go a “few” days without checking out your website because I am addicted – there I admitted it…lol) and there she was… your bench, beautiful, sitting there so perfectly, begging me to build her!! 😉 Lucky for me, you did the dirty work and saved me some money since I didn’t have to get a custom quote on the leg!!! Whoop!!! Thanks ladies!!! O & I would just like to say great minds think alike…even if that is an insult to you girls!! HAHAHA!!!