Hey guys!

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  I got LOTS done and can’t wait to share all the progress I have been making in my garage!  Today I am back to share my $20 benches I made to match my new outdoor dining table!  Yup… You read that right… 20 bucks baby!  Woohoo!

Here is how they turned out!

Back Patio

How cute are those?!  I teamed up with Miss Ana White to design these guys and I couldn’t be more happy with them.  I will share some tips and tricks with you here, and you can get the full set of plans over on Ana’s site!

I would totally suggest using a Kreg Jig to build these.  I used mine on the entire build, and I don’t think I would have built them if I didn’t have one.

kreg_jig

I used a 1 1/2″ setting for the drill bit for the entire thing.

Kreg Jig

Since these benches will be outdoors, I used Kreg’s Blue-Kote screws.  These are weather resistant screws that won’t rust.  They are amazing screws and I actually use them on lots of different projects that don’t require the Kreg Jig.

This is how I did the Kreg Jig pocket holes in the leg pieces…

Kreg Jig

Kreg Jig Pocket Holes

Pocket Holes

I made all the legs first and then finished off the rest.  I did decide to wrap the top of each bench with 1×4 pine pieces.  This made it look beefier and match the table a bit better!

I finished both benches to match the table like this…

I painted all the legs with Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Spray Paint in Semi-gloss black.

For the tops I chose to stain it using a fav of mine!

Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Dark Walnut

This stain is found at Lowe’s and comes in a TON of really great colors!  The best part… It dries in under an hour and only requires one coat!  Woohoo!

Rust-Oleum-Dark-Walnut Stain

These are the tools I used to stain the top of the benches…

How to stain wood

I actually rolled this on because of the size which made it really fast!  I filled in the cracks with the foam brush.

Now… To keep this weather proof, I gave the table top three coats of this…

RustOleum Spar Varnish

Rust-Oleum Spar Varnish

This stuff is super easy to apply.  It dries quickly between coats and doesn’t smell strong when you are applying.  It is my new go-to for finishing projects that will be outside!  LOVE.  You can also find this at Lowe’s.

That’s it!  You wan to see a few more pictures??  Me too!

Dining Bench

Back Patio

DIY Bench

What do you think??

I hope you love them as much as I do!  Make sure to check out the full set of plans over at Ana White’s site!

Thanks so much for coming by!  I would love for you to share and PIN this post below! 😉

~Whitney

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21 Comments

  1. Love this! I just can’t find the actual link to download the plans for the bench. Could you possibly send me the link?
    I’m your biggest fan ?
    Love everything you ladies are doing!

  2. I am trying to get the full plans for bench and table but the link isn’t working. Can you give me the web address? Love this btw!!!!

    1. ????

      ? I built my own using the plans at www. WoodworkPlans.info – highly recommended you check those out too. They are detailed and super easy to read and understand unlike several others I found online. The amount of plans there is mind-boggling… there’s like 16,000 plans or something like that for tons of different projects. Definitely enough to keep me busy with projects for many more years to come haha

      ? Head on over to www. WoodworkPlans.info if you want to learn more – click the pink link above for some more plans! Best of luck on your building adventures!

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  3. Just curious what the $20 cost includes. I priced out the lumber, stains and supplies and even without the Krieg jig which is almost $100 it comes to at least $35. Were some of the items supplied by the manufacturers at no charge?

  4. It looks like you used regular wood, not treated, even though this is for outside? Is that right? I don’t have an experience with all of this and was just curious how/why you chose and how it is holding up. Thanks!

  5. Hi, I used the Rustoleum Spar Varnish for the first time on my outdoor table. I let it cure for 5 days before exposing it to the elements. The first day it rained I got the results in this image. White spots & streaks all over the table. I put 3 coats on the top and followed all the directions to a tee. It’s been humid here in Michigan and every day theres been condensation on the table. Even though the spots go away once the table dries, It makes me wonder if this varnish will last. How are your outdoor projects holding up?

  6. I’ve been trying to convince my husband to make us a picnic table because I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars for one from a store. I was shocked when we started checking prices on them…and it wasn’t for anything fancy like yours :). Thanks for the great pictures and plans!

  7. Love it! I ordered my K4 kreg jig set last night but I think I need one of those clampy things. Will have to look at Home Depot since there’s no lowe’s nearby.