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10 DIY Bench Plans You Can Build Today (With Pictures)

a planter bench

Benches provide us with a great place to sit, and they can look great indoors or out. However, a trip to your local furniture outlet will prove that these simple devices can be quite expensive. Even benches purchased from a second-hand store can often cost more than $100. Luckily, they are not difficult to build, and if you have a few tools, you can make one with minimal supplies. We are about to look at several plans you can build at home. We’ll give you a short description of each and provide you with an image so you can see the final product to help you find the best project for your skillset.

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The Top 10 DIY Bench Plans

1. Porter Custom Calls Portable Shooting Bench

DIY PORTABLE SHOOTING BENCH
Image Credit: Porter Custom Calls
Difficulty Beginner

The Porter Custom Calls Portable Shooting Bench is a smaller bench that’s easy to build and well suited to anyone that likes to do a little target practicing. It only requires a few materials, and there are no challenging cuts to make. A handsaw, hammer, nails, and glue are the bulk of the required items, so it’s a perfect project for someone just getting started.


2. Texas Bow Hunter Portable Shooting Bench

DIY PORTABLE SHOOTING BENCH 1
Image Credit: texasbowhunter.com
Difficulty Beginner

The Texas Bow Hunter Portable Shooting Bench is another easy-to-build shooting bench that is a great first project. It uses sawhorse legs to make it conveniently fold for easy transportation. There are no complicated cuts, and you can likely finish this project in a day using nothing more than hand tools.


3. The DIY Couple DIY Bench Bed

DIY Bench That Folds Into A Bed
Image Credit: The Thrifty Couple
Difficulty Advanced

The DIY Couple DIY Bench Bed is an amazing project that provides you with a bench that you can fold out into a bed. It’s an advanced-level project that takes more time than most others on this list, but it can be quite convenient, especially if you get unexpected company. If you have experience in woodworking, we highly recommend giving this project some consideration.


Outdoor Bench Plans

4. Love Grows Wild Easy Outdoor Bench

EASY DIY OUTDOOR BENCH
Image Credit: lovegrowswild.com
Difficulty Beginner

The Love Grows Wild Easy Outdoor Bench is a perfect project for someone just getting started in woodworking that wants to create a durable bench they can use year after year. It requires only a few screws, boards, a handsaw, and a drill. There are no difficult cuts required, and though it may take a little longer in the shooting benches we mentioned earlier, most people can complete it in a few days without trouble understanding the instructions.


5. Barberella Home DIY Bench

DIY Bench for my Porch Refresh
Image Credit: Barberella Home
Difficulty Beginner

The Barberella Home DIY Bench is another easy-to-build bench plan that you can complete in a single day. There are no angle cuts, and you use wood glue instead of screws or nails to hold it together.  The resulting bench is extremely durable, large enough to hold several people, and you can finish it in multiple ways to accent any porch or patio.


6. The DIY Plan Farmhouse Bench

DIY Farmhouse Bench
Image Credit: The DIY Plan
Difficulty Moderate

The DIY Plan Farmhouse bench is a moderately difficult project to build that will result in an incredibly durable bench that you can use inside or out, depending on how you finish it. It isn’t difficult to make, but there are a lot of cuts, and some through the thick wood, so it’s better suited for woodworkers with a little experience.


Garden Bench Plans

7. Ugly Duckling House Outdoor Garden Bench

DIY Outdoor Bench Seat
Image Credit: Ugly Duckling House
Difficulty Easy

The Ugly Duckling House Outdoor Garden Bench is one of the easier projects on this list, and it results in an extremely durable bench that’s perfect for a small garden, especially if you finish it with thick exterior paint. It only requires a few boards that you might already have sitting around your home and a few nails.


8.  Manabout Tools Minimalist Concrete and Cedar Bench

DIY Concrete Garden Bench
Image Credit: manabouttools.com
Difficulty Moderate

The Manabout Tools Minimalist Concrete and Cedar Bench is a fantastic garden bench that uses concrete legs to make sure it can withstand the moist garden soil to last for many years. We put it in the moderately difficult pile because many people don’t have much experience with concrete, but if you do, the project will be quite easy.


9. Ryobi Nation Planter Bench

DIY PLANTER BENCH
Image Credit: RYOBI NATION
Difficulty Moderate

The Ryobi Nation Planter Bench is a bench project that features large planters on each side, suitable for almost any type of plant. It looks attractive, is extremely durable, and can seat more than one person. It’s surprisingly easy to build for its size and doesn’t require any difficult cuts or expensive tools.

Related Read: 13 DIY Planter Bench Plans You Can Build Today


10. Ana White Planter Bench

DIY Planter Bench 2
Image Credit: Ana White
Difficulty Advanced

The Ana White Planter Bench is one of the advanced plans on this list mainly because it’s large and requires a lot of work and wood. However, if you are patient and work carefully, you don’t need a lot of skill to create this attractive and functional bench. It’s sturdy and features a planter on each side. You can finish it with paint or stain to look great in any garden or patio.

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Summary

If you are a beginner looking for a project that will result in a durable bench, we highly recommend the Ugly Duckling House Outdoor Garden Bench or the Barberella Home DIY Bench as both are highly satisfying and don’t require too much time or too many materials. If you are a skilled woodworker, any of the projects on this list will make a fine choice, but you can test yourself with the DIY Couple DIY Bench Bed.

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Featured Image Credit: sq lim, Unsplash

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