Recycle Chairs Into New Benches

Before
Before

It isn’t a secret that I ♥ chairs, and have many around, and even more in the garage attic.  I love finding an old free broken chair and re-caning it, or putting it in a garden, or even hanging it from a tree.  I was surfing Craigslist and someone was giving away 5 adorable chairs for free and I knew it was time to make a bench, or two for my She Shed fire pit.  I made a pair of Adirondack chairs about 15 years ago, and they may look great, but they have to be the most uncomfortable chairs ever !!

Making the benches

The free chairs didn’t need painting and the color was perfect, but the fabric seats had to go, these are going to be outdoor chairs. If you do not have access to free chairs and are looking for an affordable solution, garden benches for your backyard will work just as fine. Since there were 5 chairs, I wanted to make a 3 chair bench and a 2 chair bench.  The chair legs have a flat surface, so I pre-drilled holes and used decking screws to attach the front legs.  I found that they were still a little unsteady, so I added a little piece of wood between each chair, on the back. 

Now that the frame is done, it was time to add the seats.  I wanted space between each board, like a park bench, so water could pass through when it rained.  When I measured the seats, front to back, a 1×4 would work out perfectly, and I happened to have a few in my leftover stash 🙂  I marked where each board would meet the chair underneath and pre-drilled the holes and attached with decking screws.  I had leftover porch paint from my shed and gave it a few coats.  Almost done !!  The back of each chair had a flower that was painted turquoise and orange, cute, but not my thing, so I painted it colors that I love, a little purple ♥, of course. 

Done!!  It really was quite easy, and I had everything hanging around the garage, except the cushion covers.  I found the cushion covers at The Dollar Tree, lol, I didn’t even know they carried them.  My little She Shed area is almost complete……….next, Fairy Trail ♥

  • Flowers

Sharing is Caring



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.