This all started with a tree. A problem tree. 

We had a 70+ foot tree growing alongside our house. In addition to growing under our foundation it lost some huge branches which knocked out power to our entire neighborhood a couple times. It had to go. We had mixed feelings about this, but it was the right move.

I decided I would make a bench out of the wood from the tree – I had some great hairpin legs for just such an occasion. The arborist was ready to help me out with this, but once the tree started to come down he got in the zone and cut it all into little pieces! Bench dreams were crushed.

This is when my handyman extraordinaire came to the rescue! He said I could come out to his house and pick out some bench wood.

Flash forward to picking out the wood- his house was amazing and there were bunnies, kitties, horses, peacocks and one survivor chicken. It was magical. I got a little distracted with the wood picking- but he had some really great options. I ended up picking a piece of madrone wood that had a cool shape.

Here is the start of the wood- pretty rough

After some sanding

Here is where all the sanding work came in.

After the wood oil…oh la la

Once that was done I finished it up with some wood oil and some beeswax polish. I also found some cool 3d printed floor protectors to keep the legs from scratching up the floor.

I really wanted to keep the bark edge- I think it adds a lot to the look of the bench

Bench time!

Project bench complete!