After building a custom sized farmhouse table by combining and tweaking the two plans here, we knew we wanted another piece of dining furniture as substantial as the table and in the same style. The farmhouse bench was the logical choice!
After calculating our desired height and length (our table is taller, but not a long as Ana's) we jumped right into building. Other than waiting for the glue to set and the stain to dry the building itself took less than two hours.
Before we stained the table we distressed the wood by tossing a bag of screws, nails & miscellaneous cabinet hardware against the bench top, followed by random scatterings of hammer blows and a few fuax-nail punch holes to make it seem more time-worn and aged (we used the same process on our table before finishing it). The key was to not go over-board and keep it random to make it seem as if the marks had been acquired over many years.
We love how both pieces turned out, from the cost to the look to the peace of mind knowing that it won't break our hearts to see the furniture get a little scratched or banged here & there as well as the substance given by having a solid wood dining set. This is one bench that won't flip over willy nilly. :)
