Front Room Benches

Hello!

We are having gorgeous sunny fall weather this week!

I found a coffee table for $3 at the Salvation Army Store last week when I was dropping off 2 bags+ of stuff.

I liked the legs and thought I'd use them for the back of the benches in the front room. 

The front legs are going to be from an "extra" bentwood stool from target.

(old pic- see the old rug!)

For the top of the benches, I was using the nice birch plywood that came from the bench in the old living room (now our master bedroom). My dad cut it in 1/2 when he was here and here's a piece of it sitting in front of the dresser. 

Here's how I got the bench together...

The back legs were shorter than the front, so I had to add some filler wood.  

It's not very nice looking on the back. And actually not screwed in all the way since I just wanted to test it out.

Here's the bench in front of the locker, all the way out.

And here it is pushed 1/2 way under.

(I found a wicker basket in the trunk in the back room when I was getting out the blankets and thought it would look nice under the bench.)

So, the bench is just ok.  I'm not sure I really like it like this.

Since I only made one bench as a test, I brought in a bench from the back patio.

I was getting out our throw pillows and thought, Wouldn't the bench look cute with a pillow?

  And then I thought, Don't I have some fabric I could put on the bench? And even some thin foam I took from our old red couch I could use for cushioning?

Is this better?  Yes, I think I like it better with the fabric.

I'm not sure I'll make the other bench with the bentwood legs... I like the outside bench, but I wanted it to be able to slide under the lockers and it's just a bit too tall.  I could cut it down, but I kinda like having the benches outside... So, I could make new ones... There are a few bench plans on Ana White's website. We probably have enough wood lying around. I've rounded up enough 2x10's and 2x8's for the leg parts, just need something for the top.  If I'm covering it with fabric, it doesn't need to be nice wood.  I guess I'll keep the pretty birch plywood for something else...

Oh one more thing, please notice that I put some baskets on top of the shelves!  Woo Hoo!  Exciting stuff! ;-)

Have a great day! :-)