Guest Post: Jenny Meese

Hello everyone.  As a huge fan of Aristocrafty, I’m so excited to guest blog today.  Like many of you, I have taken to Pinterest for inspiration. Every so often I cross something that screams “MAKE ME!” Every full moon, I try one of these projects.  Some fail, but some TURN OUT.  Here’s one that could turn out for you. 

                                                                 (This is my finished product!)

I saw THIS on Pinterest and was hooked.  I enlisted my husband and went to Home Depot to scan through the sea of colors.  We ended up purchasing several of the little 8 oz. paint samplers at the counter ($3.00 ea.) Picking and painting bold colors is just good for the soul! 

Supply list:

5 - 2x4’s to cut for colored slats. We had extra and were glad since we made some mistakes.

2 – 2x6’s for skirt around bench

2 – 4x4’s legs

Sandpaper. 

Paint and brushes

We measured and cut the wood.  No fancy measurements, just figure how long, how high and how deep, etc.  Our cuts were a bit rough so we sanded a little to soften things up.  After painting, we secured the bench by screwing the corners of the skirt into the legs.  The skirt screws pretty much disappear with a little touch up paint.

We also wanted to hide the screws on the sitting area.  It’s easier to SEE how we did it by looking at this picture, rather than describe it.  (You’re looking at the underside of the sitting area.  A place nobody but you will ever see.)  Just make sure the screws you have are long enough to go up through the first 2x4 but only ½ way through the colored one.

The bench is heavy, sturdy and so much fun!  Our kids play on it all day and I love looking out back and seeing so many colors in the yard.  I could even see myself changing it up in a few years with different blues and turquoise pastels for a traditional beach look. But maybe that’s another project. So many possibilities…this bench and I were meant to be!

I hope that you’ll build one and please PIN it!

Jenny