Hi there!
Today we are sharing a dumpster dive diy farmhouse bench.
(light from Restoration hardware)
I say we..because
I was so excited the other day when my husband called me out to the garage. I always know when he walks in the house and says “Deb come here I need to show you something”.
It’s usually something he has scored from a dumpster. One would never dream my husband would be a dumpster diver. He is a tall, good looking ,clean cut, professional working man.
Goes to show, never stereo type a garbage picker.
I have been wanting bench seating in our kitchen for a few years now. Problem was, our table is very high. We bought our kitchen set in South Florida from a Mexican pottery/furniture shop. It was a steal and is a beautiful hand made set. However, they must have made it for taller people because the table is so high that when you sit in the seats your feet do not touch the ground. Unless, you are of course 6’0 or taller.
Hence, we could never find a bench tall enough.
I asked my husband a few weeks ago if he could make me one.
He made an outdoor park bench years ago. Though he has no woodworking skills, I knew he could do it.
Heck, he built a pizza oven. He can build a bench.
We believe this was a sign of some sort, considering it has the eye hooks. We chose to keep them in tact and perhaps I can add some rope or something down the road.
The lumber came from Lowes hardware, Mike carefully hand picked each piece. He measured the height of our current chairs and that is how he determined what the height of the bench and legs would be.
Mike sanded the top of the bench to get a nice smooth, splinter free finish.
My husband swears by this varnish. In fact, he uses a marine varnish every year on our outdoor picnic table and chairs.
We receive a lot of comments and compliments on the finish. He uses a high gloss on the outside, {Marine Clear varnish} however for the bench we chose a satin finish.
Mike also put gliders on the bottom of the legs so we would not scratch up the floor each time we sat down and slid the bench over.
I’m in love with our new Farmhouse/rustic dumpster dive bench.
Rough estimate of cost $50.00
Lumber
varnish
and screws.
The varnish was the biggest cost at $24.00 a can.
I think what I love the most is we can actually sit eight now at the table. We were able to before, but that was pulling up extra chairs.
Not bad for a dumpster dive!
Go Mike.
Thanks for stopping over today.
Enjoy the long Holiday weekend.
If you missed my Kitchen summer tour you can take a gander at that while you are here. Everything is sure to change here shortly.
If you are not a regular here, I sure would love to see you back again.
XO
Beautiful!
I love it Debbie!!! It is a sweet score. I always love when I am surprised with a dumpster dive that I wasn’t the one doing the diving 🙂 Happy weekend!
Debbie,
What a great find. It is beautiful.
Kris
I had no idea Mike had the dumpster diving bug! The new bench looks great there!
One would never dream it! LOL
Great job, Mike! Great find and it looks awesome.
Thanks Kim!
I think your blog is really really interesting and full of great informative things great stuff.
The bench looks great, Debbie!
Thanks Kathy, Mike is proud!
Great find and a great job Mike!
Best dumpster dive he ever had!
Love. Love. Love. What a great find, and it looks amazing in it’s new spot and home. Did I tell you how much I love that clock you have, where did you find it? Have a great weekend! xo, Liz
Clock came from Ballards at least 12 years ago. Thanks Liz!
Holy Cow!! What a score! Magnificent job Mike! You’re hired!
What and I for a treasure he did an awesome job bravo Mike keep digging in the dumpsters
Great job by your hubby! I love the size of the bench and how it looks in your room. Well done!
Pam
He did an awesome job, Debbie. It looks great, and I absolutely love the way your kitchen looks — beautiful! 🙂 Have a fun weekend!
looks great!! What a good job he did, I love to have lots of seating at my table too!
Love it! Way to go Mike 🙂
SUCH a score. Bravo to Mike for the great find, and the great fix. Totally custom and perfect for your tall table. The kitchen looks gorge!! Still loving those beams too :)))
a year ago my husband and I were in town and I took a scenic route home and by someones house they had a wood office desk with one sm. drawer and one large draw for files. It also had a key board shelf that slide into the desk if you wanted out of sight. It was a dark cherry wood finish marked FREE with one scratch on top that looked like someone slide something across it. I just put a table runner over it for now. I always wanted a computer desk and just did not want to pay the price. We had my suv and was not sure if it would fit, the drawer would not come out so we had to lift that heavy desk inside the car. But it was worth it ! Great fine your bench.
That is a good looking bench!
Wow! This is totally awesome! He did a great job! I can’t believe someone would throw something so awesome into the dumpster!!! ~~Ang
He was shocked too! Glad he spotted it as driving by.
Wow..Great job Mike..love it. Fits so well in your kitchen area.
Thanks Jessie:)
Love the bench especially how wide it is! Looks so good in your dining room
Thank you Carol. Yes we like the width of it as well.It’s pretty comfortable!
Such a cool bench and talented hubby! It’s the perfect addition to your awesome kitchen! Lucky girl!
Thanks Becca! I bet you are getting in the Fall mood!
Goooo, Mike- how fun! I need to figure out how I can get Richard to start d-diving for me. 🙂 The bench looks great, and looks like a good size for a coffee table, too, if you ever decided to change things up again.
What a great idea Sheila, never thought of that!
I’m a 73 yr. old woman, so I don’t presume to know it all in carpentry, but I am a DIY person, who does all her own work. I noticed that some of the ends of your boards on the bench have splits in them. Just a tip for your husband, if you’d rather not have that from here on in. Drill the ends of the boards with a very small drill bit before hammering in the nails and you won’t get any splits. Love the bench tho’…. splits and all!
The ends of the boards were like that already. My husband only attached the legs and he did that from the bottom. Remember this was a dumpster dive, and it was some sort of sign so those nails were pre existing. Thanks for the tip though.
The bench is SO nice! I love it and I love when you write about Mike. You two are the best couple! 🙂
I love it! I love a man who will dumpster dive, too. I’m pretty sure I could convince my husband to dive IN, but I would have to do the seek and find first. You have a keeper for sure. (The bench, too… but I was talking about the husband. ) Going to look into that varnish.
Hi Debbie!
Loved seeing this dumpster dive project. It looks great there at your table…very rustic!
We use a combination of chairs and a bench too. With all my little grand-kids here most days… it sure comes in handy!
I Love it!1 He scored Big Time. It is exactly Perfect for that Room.
And I am going to have to Agree with Your Husband on The Marine
Varnish. When someone sees a piece of furniture outside they say oh that’s
going to get ruined etc.. I say Use Marine Varnish!! Bravo on two points for Him lol
Looks Beautiful and a Great Addition.
Lisa.
It is a great product indeed!
Debbie, it just looks so nice! Great when it all finally comes together! Now I spied the dog’s bowl and loved the black dog pic at his level. How cute is that! And I love the fact that you are smitten with chickens. My daughters don’t understand my affection for them. I enjoy your posts!