$150 DIY Outdoor Table & Bench :

$150 DIY Outdoor Table & Bench

BUILD YOUR OWN OUTDOOR TABLE & BENCH FOR $150

This is the project that I have been waiting for y’all!

Ever since I created our outdoor patio design board I have been dreaming about what the outdoor dining table would look like.

Outdoor furniture can be super expensive though, so I knew we would be building our own to stay in our DIY price budget.

These plans came from Ana White’s site and I simply modified them to fit our needs. So I won’t go into the entire build but I will go over some tips and tricks to make it easy, plus the bench we created to match the table!

This project is part of a Purdy Brush partnership, Check out our disclosures here!

Table Build Supplies

4 – 2×4 @ 8 feet long
1 – 4×4 @ 10 feet long
4 – 2×8 @ 6 feet long
1 – 2×8 @ 8 feet long (breadboard ends)
1 – 2×10 @ 6 feet long

How To Make Notches

The first step is to set your circular saw blade depth to 1 1/2″. Next, mark the length the notch will be. These plans call for 3 1/2 inch notches.

The notches are being cut into the 4×4 legs and the 2×4 bottom support pieces.

Using the circular saw make multiple cuts along the length of the notch. The skinnier the cut the easier it will be to knock them out!

After you make the cuts, use a chisel and hammer to bust out the small pieces. They should come out pretty easily.

Table Build

The only screws that will be seen in this plan are the ones connecting the middle supper bracket to the legs.

The rest will be lots of pocket screws. Pocket screws will be how you attach the tabletop slats together.

It will also be how you secure the table top to the base. I definitely recommend reading through her entire plan to make sure you are pre-drilling the right holes in the right places.

The entire table only took us about 3 hours to build & I absolutely love it!

Building The Bench

The plans for the table were perfect but I couldn’t find matching bench plans so we just made one to mirror the table.

The plan was to make the bench 5ft long to match the length of the table & 18″ high. The seat has a width of about 16″.

We added notches to the legs to match the table.

We still used pocket holes to connect the upper supports.

This is how our frame looked before we attached the seat slides.

For the seat slats we used 1×8 slats just like the table top.

Finishing Process

Supplies:

After everything was built we got to move onto the fun part, staining!

Before we get to the staining, some sanding needs to occur. Use 120 grit sandpaper on both pieces.

TIP: To remove all the dust I like to do it the lazy girl way & use a vacuum & microfiber cloth.

Once the table & bench are cleaned off we can start staining!

I decided to go with Minwax Golden Pecan stain to pull out the natural look of the wood. This Purdy Roller and Blue Heron XL brush is my favorite way to apply it!

I used to just use any old thing to apply stain until I found this brush. The beavertail handle fits my hand perfectly and the angle of the brush provides even staining coverage, so my pieces don’t look blotchy anymore!

TIP: Test your stain color on the underside of your furniture first to make sure you are happy with how the stain looks on the wood you are using. Stain absorbs differently in different types of wood.

This Purdy brush also helps me get into the tight spaces easily!

The table and bench got two coats of stain before I sealed them with spar urethane. This step is crucial to prevent damage from the elements outside!

DIY Outdoor Table and Bench Reveal

Can you believe this gorgeous outdoor dining table and bench only cost us $150 to make?!

It is crazy and I like crazy! The best part is that every time we entertain friends or sneak out here for a date night in, we will know we built this, yes us, with our bare hands.

That’s all for now, we have a few projects left to button up before the big patio makeover reveal! I will be posting a sneak peek on our Instagram next week so stay tuned and have an amazing week.

DIY Table and Bench Update

We have had this table and bench for 6 years, how has it been that long!

It’s now located at our forever home, on our front porch and I stained it black.

She is still just as beautiful and sturdy as the day I built her.

$150 DIY Outdoor Table & Bench