Check it out! We finally got rid of our old and falling apart bench! Lets be honest, our last bench was more for looks because we were all afraid to sit on it!
Now our porch is finally a comfortable place to hang out just in time for spring! I followed Ana White’s Park Bench plans and made a few diversions along the way. They were easy to follow and this bench came together really fast. We started building it about 5:00 and were done within a few hours with my husband and I working together.
I will give you a run through on how we did it but Ana White has really good instructions and measurements so be sure to check her tutorial out. First we built the main seat.
Then we added the front and back legs.
This is the one spot I would suggest to divert from Ana’s plans. You are suppose to put the arms on here, but when we went to put the planks on later they were in the way.
We ended up unscrewed them so we could more easily put the bench planks on. Instead I would jump right to attaching the bottom support beam, the back, and the planks and add the arms at the end.
Next put the back on.
To add the planks, first screw in the front plank and the back plank right up against the 2×4’s. Then we measured how much space was left between the boards and then spaced the other two boards evenly.
Then it was just time to finish it. I used my hand sander to give it a nice smooth finish and to make sure that the edges were not too sharp. I used the color Sparrow by Behr for my paint. It was a little lighter than I had hoped.
The wind blows pretty hard here in my small town, but I’ve always wanted pillows on my bench. So I decided to find a way to make it work. I cut a long shoestring in half and sewed the middle of the shoelace to the middle of the back an outdoor pillow. Now it is just as simple as tying them onto the bench!
Let the summertime porch parties begin! 
Ben
Thanks for this tutorial. I’m a beginner at woodworking, but this project looks so simple that I think maybe I can build it. How great to have a fun, doable project! Thank you.
Pam Dana
Good luck!!
Jerry Burnetteb
I would love to get the mesurments of that bench I ham trying to build things my self
Pam Dana
For full measurements and the tutorial on how to build it, click the link in the first paragraph for Ana White’s Park Bench!
Beckie
Thank you for showing me how to make a simple easy outdoor bench. I was planning to make one for my tiny garden but don’t know how to start until I saw your website. It’s beautiful and I like it
Beckie Lab
Hi Ana. I have Al last completed a garden bench for my garden in Borneo. it was a success. Thank you. I have even write about it in a blog to share with my.friends.
Dan
The link in the first paragraph still works! I just checked it!
Phyllis
Can you list your supplies please?
Anat
Hi, where can i find the measurement of this lovely bench?
deb
http://www.ana-white.com/2014/06/plans/modern-park-bench
it was a highlkited word/link
Kris Ohanu
I love the idea and the pics are great ~ is there a link to Ana White’s instructions I missed? Also, love the tip on the arms too 😀 Thanks so much for sharing 😀
deb
http://www.ana-white.com/2014/06/plans/modern-park-bench
it was a highlighted word/link