I needed a neat small bench at the front entrance of our home, one that didn’t take up much leg room – so rather than using a chair or bigger bench, I decided to repurpose an old coffee table! It was a lot easier and simpler than I thought it was going to be – here, let me show you how!
I started with a an ordinary press-board coffee table 60cm by 60cm across with pine legs and supports. I tried it out by sitting on it, and it was strong enough to hold my weight with ease, but since it was square, it would only hold one person, and I wanted a bench with room for two! I decided to cut it straight down the middle with a circular saw, making two identical halves, as you can see in the photo.
Having the two halves separate, I worked on one at a time.
I cleaned all the burrs and sharp splintery bits with a mouse sander, and then attached a few shelf brackets which would be necessary to secure each half to the wall. Since it only had the two front legs, the half-table would need to rest on those and press against the wall for support. I intended to fit them beside each other almost as one bench against the wall.
Once I’d finished fitting brackets to both halves of the table, they were essentially ready – but I wanted to do more! I decided to stain them dark brown with wood stain. Three coats were sufficient, and it dried surprisingly fast!
After that, all I had to do was place them against the wall in position, then mark the holes that needed to be drilled. Then I drilled the holes, fitted plugs and screwed the benches tight into position. All done! In the photos below you can see how they look – without and with cushions!
Have a DIY week!
Cheers!
All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2022.