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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

How to Make Headboard Garden Bench


This project comes from some very good friends of mine, Jen and her husband Jim.  While I was in Nevada being Mom and Grandma they were busy building a bench (out of a full sized headboard and a twin sized headboard). They were influenced by Gail at My Repurposed Life.  My friend Jen takes photographs and makes her own greeting cards thus "Sunshine Greetings" on the pictures.

 
Supplies:
  2 wooden bed headboards (or head and footboard)


(If you will notice the size difference, you can see they used a full and a twin sized headboard)




               2    1x4  8’ (Seat Box)
1      1x2  6’  (Seat Support)
Slats or board for Seat (we used ply board leftover from another project)
4 cans of spray paint
Painter’s Tape
3” and 2” inch wood screws
Wood glue
Wood Filler
4 wood biscuits
Bench pad
Directions:
     1. Fill bed frame holes in lower legs with wood filler.

     2. Sand headboards so spray paint will adhere to them. 

  
     3. Cut one headboard (footboard) in half.
    (They used the twin for the arms of the bench.)


     4. Spray paint spindles and top section of uncut headboard with an accent color and allow 
         paint to dry overnight.




     5. Align cut halves to full headboard to mark lines for cutting slots with a biscuit joiner.

     6. Create slots and insert wood biscuits with wood glue to join sides to headboard.




     7. Clamp sides until glue dries (overnight).

8. Center and apply “Welcome” cutout to headboard.  
         (I gave Jen the leftovers from my Welcome sign).



     9. Spray a light coat of accent color paint to seal edges and allow paint to dry.

10. Wrap spindles with painter’s tape to protect from over spray.

     11. Measure and cut boards to make a seat box.

     12. Measure and screw 3 seat support panels into center of seat box.

     13. Attach box to headboard legs with 3” screws while making sure box seat is level.

     14. Attach board or slats to seat box using smaller wood screws.




     15. Spray light coats of paint until bench is completely covered with paint.




     16. When paint is dry, remove “welcome” cutout and paint tape from spindles.




     17. Add a bench pad for a comfortable seat.

     18. Set bench out in your garden to have a welcoming place to sit and smell the roses.



Edit: 
Please see Twin Size - Headboard / Footboard Bench as well.



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8 comments:

  1. Jen & Jim made a great bench and they have a super tutorial! :)
    Great that they had a twin and full to match. Thanks for linking to my blog Toqua.
    gail

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thats really cool!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is so cute! What a great job. Love the welcome!

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  4. Love Jen & Jim's bench and Gail's too. This is such a wonderful repurposing project! I'm definitely going to be keeping my eyes open for some spindled headboards!

    Thank you so much for linking up to "A Little Birdie Told Me..."! I'm featuring your post on my FB page.

    Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, everyone, for visiting Toqua's website and giving us feedback on our project. It was a pleasure to hear the positive comments. We enjoyed this project and were glad to have Toqua share it with all of you.

    Have a great day!

    Crafter's Tip: For outside assistance (especially husbands): Supply them with their favorite beverage or snack, praise them on their handiwork, and give them a kiss afterwards or buy a new tool for the project and they will be pleased to assist you, but most importantly, just be appreciative and remember to always say thanks for any and all help.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The comment just above here is from Jen (of Jen and Jim) :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have been thinking about making one of these for my front porch! You are so talented and you have made so much ! Wow!
    Do you have any interest in starting a craft night?
    You can find me at http://www.ourjubilantnest.blogspot.com . I am sure you will recognize "Odelia" and "Bettina" :)

    ReplyDelete

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