Curb appeal is such a big deal when you’re selling a home, but it’s also so important to making a home feel, well, home-y for your family and guests. Our guest today, Christine, did a great job updating her porch with a fabulous DIY corner bench. And the built-in table is perfect for displaying decor on the front porch, or holding drinks and snacks on the back patio!
or an even “cooler” table like these... because they have coolers built in!
Now that you’ve got all sorts of patio and porch ideas — give Christine and her corner bench a rousing Remodelaholic welcome!
How to Build a Corner Bench with Built-in Table
by Christine from Pinspiration Mommy
Hi! I’m Christine from the Pinspiration Mommy blog. I’m a full-time working mom and wife who loves to build, craft, and create in my limited spare time. I also love working with Hubs to remodel our home room by room and I love planning theme parties for my daughter and other family members. I enjoy sharing all my creations on my blog (in addition to this project, my favorites are our outdoor dining table and DIY firewood rack.)
Woodworking is probably my favorite spare time activity and I love creating new furniture and décor for my home. I got started with woodworking a little later in life (I was 38!). For most of my life I considered myself to be completely uncrafty and NEVER thought I’d do something like building my own furniture. But then, along came Pinterest and the rest is history! Pinterest introduced me to this blog and a few others where I saw amazing women building gorgeous furniture projects and sharing their passion with others, and for free! I was inspired to give it a try and now I’m hooked! I started out just following tutorials created by others, but now I am creating and sharing my own furniture creations and hope to inspire others to give it a try! Here is one of my favorite projects, my DIY Corner Bench with a Built-In Table:
My front porch has been in serious need of a makeover, it was looking pretty sad! I had plants on my front porch that I always forgot to water so they were no longer amongst the living. Here is a pic of my sad front porch:
Now that summer is officially here, I figured that it’s the perfect time to start a makeover for my front porch. I had been wanting some seating on my porch as well as a table to display decorations, so, I decided to create a bench to fit in one of the corners of the porch with a built-in table for displaying decor. Here’s what I came up with:
Here are the plans for the corner bench with the built-in table:
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Material List:
- 2 – 2×6 @ 8 ft
- 7 – 2×4 @ 8 ft
- 1 – 2×2 @ 6 ft
- 2 1/2″ exterior wood screws
- 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws
- Kreg jig
- wood glue
Cut List:
- 2 – 2×4 @ 40″ (frame)
- 2 – 2×4 @ 26 3/4″ with one end of each cut at 45 degree angle (frame)
- 6 – 2×4 @ 26 1/2″ (bench seat top)
- 9 – 2×4 @ 16″ (legs)
- 4 – 2×4 @ 15″ (table top)
- 4 – 2×4 @ 8″ (table top)
- 1 – 2×4 @ 1 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ (table top)
- 2 – 2×6 @ 26 1/2″ (bench seat top)
- 2 – 2×6 @ 15 1/4″ with one end of each cut at 45 degree angle (table box)
- 2 – 2×6 @ 13 3/4″ with one end of each cut at 45 degree angle (table box)
- 2 – 2×6 @ 12 1/4″ (table box)
- 4 – 2×2 @ 18″ (table top)
First, start off by building the frame for the bench. Make the following cuts:
- 2 – 2×4 @ 40″ with one end of each cut at a 45 degree angle
- 2 – 2×4 @ 26 3/4″ with one end of each cut at a 45 degrees
- 6 – 2×4 @ 12 1/4″
Drill two pocket holes into the ends of each 12 1/4″ board, and use wood glue and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws and 2 ½ exterior wood screws to assemble the frame using the diagram below:
corner bench frame plan
And here’s an actual picture of the completed frame:
Frame for DIY Corner Bench with table
Next, cut the legs for the bench. Cut nine 2x4s at 16″ each. Using wood glue and exterior wood screws, attach the legs to the inside of the frame (predrill holes to prevent wood from cracking).
Attach legs to inside of frame using 2 ½ wood screws and wood glue
DIY Corner Bench frame with legs attached
Next, build the box for the corner table. Cut the following pieces of wood:
- 2 – 2×6 @ 15 1/4″ with one end of each cut at 45 degree angle
- 2 – 2×6 @ 13 3/4″ with one end of each cut at a 45 degree angle
- 2 – 2×6 @ 12 1/4″
Drill two pocket holes into each end of the two 15 1/4″ boards. In addition, drill two pocket holes into the side of each of the four boards that assemble to form the box. Using 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws and wood glue, attach the four boards that make up the box (make sure the pocket holes in the side of each board are facing in the same direction (these will be used to attach the box to the frame).
Assemble box for corner table of bench
Using wood glue and 2 ½ pocket hole screws, attach the table box to the boards making up the corner of the frame.
Attach table box with wood glue and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws
Drill two pocket holes into the ends of each of the two 12 1/4″ 2×6 boards you cut. Flip the bench upside down, and using wood glue and 2 ½ pocket hole screws, attach these boards to the inside top of the table box.
Attach table box with wood glue and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws
At this point, I sanded the portions of the bench already built and then painted it white using Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint. (First I sprayed white primer, and then two coats of paint).
Corner bench frame painted white
While the frame and table box were drying, I cut the boards to make the top of the bench seats:
- 6 – 2×4 @ 26 1/2″
- 2 – 2×6 @ 26 1/2″
Drill three pocket holes into one side of each 2×6 board, and into one side of all but 2 of the 2×4 boards. Using wood glue and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws, attach three 2x4s and one 2×6 together to make two bench seats. See pattern here:
Bench top plans
I then cut the boards for the table top and assembled those:
- 4 – 2×4 @ 15″ with each end cut at a 45 degree angle
- 4 – 2×4 @ 8″ with each end cut at a 45 degree angle
- 1 – 2×4 @ 1 1/4″ x 1 1/4″
- 4 – 2×2 @ 18″ with each end cut at a 45 degree angle
Drill pocket holes into one side of all boards except the 1 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ board. Using wood glue and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws, attach the boards into the following pattern (the 1 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ board can be glued into the center once the other boards are assembled.
Corner bench table top plans
Here is a pic of the table top in progress of being built:
Table top in progress
Once I completed the table top, I sanded the two bench tops and the table top and then stained them with Minwax Dark Walnut stain. I then used wood glue and 2 1/2″ exterior wood screws to attach the bench tops to the frame (predrill holes first). I attached the table top with wood glue and 2 1/2″ exterior wood screws from underneath the table box (drill through the 2×6 boards at the top of the table frame into the bottom of the table top).
Once the bench top and table top were attached, I filled all holes with wood filler. Once that was dry, I lightly sanded the filled holes on the top of the benches and then touched up the stain. Lastly, I applied 3 coats of exterior polyurethane varnish in satin finish and once dry, I put it in its intended location on my front porch and I am loving it! Here are some more pics:
To complete this project, it took me about 3 weekends (since I work full time during the week I don’t get much of a chance to work on large woodworking projects during that time). I purchased all materials at Home Depot or Lowe’s, but you can buy the supplies at most hardware stores if you aren’t near one of the big box home improvement stores. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Thanks so much for sharing, Christine! Remodelaholics, leave Christine a comment here and go visit her at Pinspiration Mommy to see more building, like this great raised planter and trellis combo.
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