Garden Bench w/ Chairs

I built these items for our old house about two years ago. They sat nicely on our front porch, bench on one side of front door, and the two chairs on the other. The porch was a full width of the house, so they looked great.

I made them from white cedar, to ensure they could stand up to the elements in Northern Ontario Canada.

They are completely mortise and tenon joints everywhere, glued only, except the seat slats which are clearly screwed on, with screws exposed.

We now have the chairs located on either side of our new front entrance. They fit perfectly as if they were made to go there.

The bench is located on the VERY small deck that is above our front entrance. The bench fit snug width-wise across the deck, giving us seating, without taking up too much of the limited space.

My wife wanted a dark color outside, and originally wanted me to paint them, but I hate paint … I love stain so I can see the wood grain, and natural textures. So I tried a dark walnut stain, and she loves them. It contrasted beautifully with the cedar, and left some very beautiful grain appearance. Compromise … who’d have thought!

-- "The German is like a willow. No matter which way you bend him, he will always take root again." - Alexander Solzhenitsyn -