Ana White Bench

Chelsea recently introduced me to the world of Ana White. Cue the lights and soundtrack now. It was one of those “ahhhh haaaaaaa” moments like from the movies.

I spent quite a bit of time drooling over so many of her amazing designs! I pretty much wish I had the know-how, time, and tools to build absolutely everything she has available.

While I was home for spring break I convinced Ted to help me build one of Ana’s designs. I loved the look of the rustic x bench! My persuasive abilities must be decent since he agreed and we fled to the nearest home improvement store to purchase supplies.

A few days after purchasing the lumber and the screws for the project, we finally got to work! I got to use a table saw (ohhh yeaaaa!). I still have all of my fingers too! Ted will tell you, I was very careful around it.

Although the instructions came with pictures, I sure had no clue how to cut at an angle and what point to point meant. I would have relied on Google to help us figure it out, but Ted knew what he was doing.

After making all the cuts, I started sanding all of the edges. I wanted the edges to be smooth and cornered anywhere someone may touch or accidentally run into the bench.

The assembly was probably the toughest part of the process since it involved countersinking screws and centering all of the different parts of the bench. Counterskinking the screws was a great idea on Ana’s behalf since that means they wont show and add to the polished look of the bench.

I let the wood filler dry overnight and sanded off the excess. My original plan was to paint the entire bench a light green color that I got at Lowe’s (I think) for $5 – instead of $30! Then I got to thinking though…

I’ve really been digging furniture that is painted a light color on the bottom and stained a darker color on the top. I had stain… soooo it was quite simple to change the plan.

After just one super light coat of walnut stain.

I’ve been looking at this bench with love eyes since yesterday! I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. If you have the tools and know-how to build something, I highly recommend it. It feels GOOD to tell someone “hey, I built that.”

 

Don’t forget to check out Ana White for some inspiration! She seriously has fantastic plans for just about anything – and no we aren’t being paid to say that.

Happy building!