Barnwood and Benches

As I've said before, there was no more budget for the decor of our back yard. "Necessity is the mother of invention."

I see these falling down sheds, barns and houses all over the place on the Prairies. They've always held a fascination for me. One day while driving out to the farm I remembered how much I had loved the old barn wood furniture I'd seen at the "Death Race".

2+2=

I asked around and found someone who was willing to let me help my self to the pile of wood that was already falling off an old barn. With help from my MIL, I was able to bring what I needed to our home in the city and start to work on a plan.

Take the time to evaluate each board. Remove all nails before you start. Cut off any rotting or soft pieces of wood. You don't have to give up a whole board just because part of it is rotten. Cut and use what is good. You'd be surprised at the amount of wood you'll still have.

Pick a pattern or plan.

I will not try to recreate what I did but there are loads of ideas and plans on line to help you decide what kind of furniture you would like. I, personally, just went with plain and strong.

You'll need at least an extra set of hands and a skill saw or chop saw. I always screw rather than nail my items together.

As you can see from my photo, my bench is very rustic but not very fancy. There are soooo many ways to use barn wood. I will show you another project soon.