Built-In Sunroom Bench of Salvaged Wood

This cluttered sun porch could be an enjoyable room, but it’s narrow and hard to furnish. See how This sunroom was transformed into a peaceful reading nook with the addition a built-in bench made of salvaged wood in this DIY Network video:

Wide thick floorboards from a deconstructed 1930’s grist mill were repurposed for the seat of the bench, and 2′ by 6′ floor joints from the same building were used as the supports. Beautiful old trim from a Victorian sideboard will face the bench and hide the scrap lumber. The bench was built with the assistance of a carpenter to ensure structural soundness.

The salvaged lumber was cut into custom 2’x 2′ braces in order to build the frame. These were attached to the wall using a strong wood adhesive and secured using a nail gun. Some of the frame had to be modified to fit around a power outlet and baseboards. For the middle diagonal brace, a 2’x 4′ was cut on an angle at both ends so that it sat flush against the back of the front brace on the wall, then a horizontal cross support was added in the middle of the frame beside the diagonal support to prevent the bench from sagging or bowing. Once everything was in place, a power drill was used to go back over the frame and screw the structure together with 3-inch wood screws to make sure it was truly load bearing. A metal bracket was fastened between the center support and the wall brace so the bench will not pull away from the wall when weight is added.

Scrap pieces of the Victorian trim were cut and shaped to make a footing on either side of the front supports for the decorative facing to rest on. Wood adhesive holds the footings in place and are secured with brads. The decorative wood was then cut to size using a 45-degree angle miter cut where the trim pieces meet at the top two corners of the frame. The trim was cleaned with a file and a brush and a coat of linseed oil applied to seal and protect the wood and give it a glossy finish. Once the oil was dry, the trim was attached to the frame using wood adhesive and strengthened with a few brads.

For the bench seat itself, the recycled floor boards were cut to the width and length of the frame. Scraping down the edges of the board on the pavement removed old gunk and created a bevel that would otherwise require a sander. Some notches were cut to custom fit the boards around the trim in the corner. Once they fit perfectly, they were painted and screwed into place.

This narrow once-cluttered space is now a cozy retreat.