DIY Plant Bench in 1 Hour

I was invited to co-host #OneHourDIY this week with Cara @neverskipbrunch and Jessie @eyeinthedetail! This was an opportunity to show a quick and fun project you can do in about 1 hour.

I considered doing a stencil or colorblock wall, but wanted to try something a bit ambitious. And I say ambitious only because this was my first attempt at woodworking! This would be easy peasy if you have previous experience. In fact, this tutorial is adapted from The Rehab Life’s $15 Fifteen Minute Bench.

What’s different from the original tutorial? I wanted my bench to have less depth since it’ll be used as a plant stand in front of a window. I used a 2″ x 6″ instead of 2″ x 8″ for the top of the bench, and also adjusted the length of the four smallest pieces to 6″ from 8″. The final dimension of this bench is 48″ L x 17″ H x 11″ D.

Materials

2″ x 6″ x 8 ft common board (link)
2″ x 4″ x 8 ft common board (link)
2 1/2″ construction screw (link)
Teak oil (link), or any other finishing touches

Tools

Miter saw (link)
Sander (link)
Drill and drill bits

1. Cut the two boards

Cut the 2″ x 6″ x 8 ft common board in half. These two ~4 ft pieces will become the top of the bench. If needed, make additional cuts to get them to the same length.

Cut the 2″ x 4″ x 8 ft common board into four 6″ pieces and four 15.5″ pieces. These will be made into legs. Again, make adjustments to get them to be the same length, if needed.

Here is a photo of all the pieces you’ll have after cutting:

2. Put the leg pieces together

Take two 15.5″ and two 6″ pieces and make a rectangle like shown below. Attach them together by drilling pilot holes and screwing in the construction screws. Repeat with the remaining pieces to make the second leg.

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Don’t worry if the screws aren’t in all the way. You can always hand screw it later for a clean look. This is what you should have by the end of this step:

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3. Attach the legs to the bench top

Place the two 4 ft boards side by side on the ground. Place each leg 1″ from the edges. You can adjust the legs to be closer together if you’d like. Drill pilot holes and screw in the legs to the bench top.

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4. Apply finishing touches

The finishing touches didn’t happen in the 1 hour timeframe, but I plan to sand, stain, and seal the bench with teak oil. I’ll probably keep it a lighter color to match the bamboo pieces near the window.

The Final Product

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As I mentioned before, I still have to go back and figure out how I want to finish this bench, but that’s for another day! This project is definitely doable in an hour, if not less for a more seasoned woodworker. The best part is that my plants finally have a central location to soak up the sunshine!

Plants shown in the photos:

Sansevieria cylindrica (link)
Alocasia polly (link)
Monstera deliciosa (link)
Echeveria agavoides (link)
Zamioculcas Zamiifolia “ZZ Plant” (link)