We completed our very first home project together!
I have wanted a bench in our entryway for well over a year and Sean really was wanting a place to sit while putting on his shoes every morning. Below you’ll find some examples of inspiration for the bench we ended up building. I specifically liked the hairpin legs and natural wood seat – especially when it’s styled with a round gold mirror.
The kickstart for this project came from a Pin that Hayle found on Pinterest – a complete guide to easily make a bench of our own. Unfortunately, the blog post of how to build the bench is now lost on the interwebs, so our not-so-professional instructions will have to work.
Tools & Parts You’ll Need
- 4 – Hairpin Legs
- 2 – Hardwood 8′ 2×4 Boards
- 4 – Heavy Strap Ties
- Stain & Brush/Cloth
- Sandpaper
- Screws & Drill
How To Build A Hairpin Leg Bench
1. Cut Your 8′ Boards
If you have a saw and can do this yourself, go for it! We chose to have our local home improvement store cut the board for us (Lowe’s and Home Depot offer this service for free). You’ll want to cut your boards into four pieces of equal length, about 48″ each.
2. Sand Everything
We took the more laborious route and hand-sanded everything. If you have a palm or belt sander, take advantage of it! Start with a medium git sandpaper to help remove any deep groves and finish off with a light git to really smooth everything out.
3. Stain The Wood
Now it’s time to stain the three pieces of wood. This is the stain we ended up going with. In the end, we probably would have picked a lighter one, but we’re still happy with the result! We chose to stain just the tops & sides of our bench because no one will ever see the bottom! Apply just one coat and allowed it to dry overnight before installing any hardware.
4. Attach Heavy Strap Ties
We were really at a loss when we were wandering around Lowe’s to find what we were looking for. We actually didn’t end up purchasing what we were originally looking for. But eventually, we found something similar that would get the job done.
Connect the four pieces of board with your heavy strap ties – evenly space them out across the bench. Make sure to leave room on the very end for your hairpin legs!
5. Attach Hairpin Legs
Last but not least, put a hairpin leg in each corner of your bench. And you’re done! The bottoms of the legs aren’t too rough, but we chose to add the little foot pieces to the bottom of our hairpin legs because we’re renting and would hate for the legs to scratch up our floors.
Styling Your Entryway Bench
Putting the bench in our entryway and styling it was my favorite part. The timing of building our bench aligned with us getting some new decor so the space really felt transformed! Pulling from our inspiration, we bought a round gold mirror to live directly above our bench. We had also recently been gifted this cute pillow that goes well with the rest of our decor. Lastly, we hung up our favorite Idaho flag and then added this new rug to help lighten up the space.
Before
After
In the end, we are absolutely thrilled with the bench that we built all by ourselves! This is just one of many DIY projects we hope to complete as a couple.
