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Phew! THIS PROJECT.
Boy, this project was a beast.
I guess it’s bad blogger form to tell your readers how hard something is. Projects are supposed to look easy and error free, right? If I’m being completely honest, this project probably shouldn’t have been beastly, or terribly hard for anyone who’s built something from scratch before. In my defense, when I started this X bench (back in January!) I hadn’t ever built anything from scratch out of wood. Well, I was itching to use the Kreg Jig I got in my swag bag from last year’s Haven conference, and I was also itching to have myself my very own upholstered X bench, but no way was I ever going to fork over $200+ to buy a brand new X bench. So I thought I’d scratch both itches, give my Kreg Jig a try and make an X bench myself!
*Disclaimer #1* Building an X bench is HARD!
In building this X bench, I mainly referenced Beth’s tutorial. I tweaked her tutorial a bit to fit the specifications of a bench, rather than an ottoman. I also chose to use 2″ x 2″ oak boards instead of 1″ x 2″ boards, which in Beth’s tutorial you have to glue together to make a 2″ x 2″ board. I’d rather pay a couple dollars more to skip that glue + clamp situation.
Here is a short montage of the work it took to build the bench…
I definitely used my Kreg Jig, and bought some fancy clamps. You probably noticed I built this whole thing in my kitchen…. eh, that’s how we roll.
*Disclaimer #2* Upholstering an X bench is HARD!
I originally wanted the upholstery to be perfectly seamless. I started by hot glue gunnin’ the batting over the wood, but it was taking WAY too long to dry (I know, I’m impatient). I started to worry once the batting was completely attached, ‘this upholstery business isn’t going to go well’. I ended up stapling the fabric in strategic places around the X legs and middle bar.
The seat was easy: foam + batting + staples that you can hide, no worries there.
I wanted the option to remove the the top cushion in case it needed to be cleaned, so instead of drilling it into the base, I secured the top with velcro. I also drilled the lower base onto the X legs for added stability.
Boom. X Bench done! It’s vibrant and luxurious, and full of staples, but what the hay, it’s perfect for me.
I’m a big fan of benches at the foot of any bed. They’re the perfect touch to an otherwise boring (and awkward to look at) foot of the bed.
My advice to you is – just go and buy an X bench. It’s worth the $200.
Hahahahahahahahaha! Awesome! “Just go buy one!” This is why I heart you Brittany! It looks amazing though. I love your fabric choice.
Thanks for the honesty! Ive thought about taking a stab at an x-bench too. Those angles alone are enough to make me reconsider!
Ha! I appreciate your honesty! It does look great though and I really love the color. It’s something I’ve been wanting for awhile now, but just haven’t found one that I wanted to spend that much money on. The upholstery of this does look rather tricky!
Rats – was hoping you’d have the secret to upholstering those legs :) The ones I made with wood legs were actually pretty straightforward but I do love the look of the fabric-covered legs. I just can’t seem to make my brain work well enough to figure out how to do it! I used the two-pieces method for the legs, mostly because I wanted to extra support of the notches – did you notch out the 2×2 pieces in the middle?
is it bad if I don’t know what a notch is? LOL. But no, really… I’m off to check out your tutorial to see what you did :)
Just a little opening in the middle of each side where the two sides of each X kind of puzzled together. Added some extra support – but we use ours for sitting on a lot…and they get jumped on a ton by my kids so I was extra concerned about sturdiness! I’d been thinking I could cut out the glue step and use the 2×2 if I could chisel out a center section to get that same puzzley thing going. But I may be overthinking this…
Haha! It turned out so pretty though! Seriously….you sound like me after I built an adirondack chair for my toddler. I looked at the other kids and thought, “Well, I’ll be buying kits at Home Depot for you two.” Lol! ;-)
haha right? some things are just better left to the pros (and bought in bulk) :)
LOL, thanks for the honesty! It looks great at the foot of your bed!
thanks! I am proud that I can sit on it and it won’t break. It’s fairly sturdy! At first I was afraid it would collapse and wouldn’t let anyone sit on it. I’m more relaxed now, besides, you can’t really see the staples unless I point them out (or so I tell myself)
Pretty! I’ve been wanting to attempt making 2 x leg stools but the seemless fabric had me stumped. Glad to know I’m not the only one. I love yours and it looks great at the foot of your bed! xo Kristin
It turned out great! I pretty much hate upholstering anything in general (although I enjoy building), but you did an awesome job despite the difficulty!
Great project! I love your room overall. I have never built anything from scratch out of wood so you are braver than me!
I bet if you’d have used decorative upholstery tacks, it could’ve been “easier” to just line up the darn seams on the legs and cover it with tacks. I’ve decided upholstery tacks are the answer to every upholsterer’s prayer… :-) Looks great, though!!
Just a quick note, the pocket holes look a little rough in the second pic, are you using a quality jig like a Kreg K4 on your projects…. https://www.thetoolstore.ca/supplierItems.asp?idSupplier=14