A friend was selling her old head and foot board and I snapped them up. In spite of the broken trim and wavy veneer I envisioned an elegant bench. $60 for the head and footboard was a great deal and multiple projects
French Farmhouse Bench
3 Materials
$50
18 Hours
Medium
The first task was to make a box. Measuring the width and depth of the bench seat I used 1x 4’s to make a simple box.
I attached the box to the headboard using 2.5” wood finishing screws. The next job was to attach legs. Looking through my collection...yes, if I see legs I buy them, I pulled out two French Provençal ones.
I added one foot pieces of 2x4 to the top of each leg with screws. This provided more strength to the legs. I then added the legs to the front corners of the box.
With the legs on I then added 1x4 pine boards for the seat. I stained the seat, frame and legs in MinWax Provincial stain. I sanded the wavy veneer and filled all cracks with wood filler. I cut the decorative side rail and added it to the front of the box.
After sanding the wood filler, I painted the bench in Benjamin Moore’s Gauntlet Grey. Made a cushion from 3” foam with a plywood base. The last step was covering the cushion in Frontgates’s herringbone material.
The headboard turned out so well, I decided to make one out of the footboard. Two beautiful French Farmhouse benches have now been happily placed in new homes.
Resources for this project:
2.5 inch GDK finishing screws
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Comments
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3 of 66 comments
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I have an antique bed. It isn't ornate, but it's been in the family since the 1800's. It's been mostly kept in sheds and basements except for a couple years I used it. I think this would be a wonderful way to keep it and make it useful again.
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its always great when you can rescue a family piece for future generations.
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I agree! This bed is 72" long. So too short for a standard mattress. I don't know of anyone who would want it as a bed anymore.
Frequently asked questions
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Why does the first headboard look tilted?
How can I stop my wooden stairs from creaking???
I really like the look of this piece.
What colour are the raised pieces. Are they just stain or are they painted?