DIY ProjectsFurnitureRepurposed

How To Build A Bench From An Old Door

4 Mins read

I love picking up old doors. They have so much character and so much charm. You can upcycle them into many things and today, I am sharing how to build a bench from an old door!

Old doors can be repurposed into so many things. I spotted a bench made from a door on Pinterest that inspired me for this project. I had a door that I picked up years ago that had the best patina and I knew it would look great as a bench.

After talking it over with Matt, we both knew we could create a bench with the door I had in mind.  

old door

{Affiliate links are used in this post. Click on any of the underlined links to find the products I am talking about. You can read my disclosure HERE.}

Supplies – How To Build A Bench From An Old Door

Door

Circular Saw

Jigsaw

Table Saw

Miter Saw

Jig Pocket Hole Kit

Retractable Pencil Holder (so convenient for any DIY project) 

Sander

Restor-A-Finish

Framing Square

Screws

Tape Measure

Can You Do This With Any Door?

I need to start this tutorial on how to build a bench from an old door by saying that every door will be different. I am not going to give exact measurements because we didn’t really use them. A shorter door or a longer door which would give you a different-sized bench. We basically cut the door in half lengthwise and then, cut those pieces in half to get the pieces we needed to build the bench.  

I am going to walk you through the process we used so you can do the same process with whatever size door you have. 

The photo below shows you how we initially cut the door. We measured it out evenly and cut the door in half down the middle with a table saw.

old door

door in half

Then, we cut the doors between the panels with a miter saw so we came away with four pieces; two larger pieces and two smaller pieces.

all pieces of door

How To Make The Curves On The Sides of The Bench

Now, it was time to figure out what I wanted to sides of the bench to look like. Matt and I drew a pattern on a piece of paper. The sides of the bench were made from the two smaller pieces we cut from the door. We sketched the pattern on one of the small sections to see what we thought. 

drawing

Once we were settled on the curve for the sides of the bench, Matt made a template out of cardboard. He traced it darker on one of the smaller sections of the door to cut it out with a jigsaw.

template

When he had the piece from the first section, he used that cut-out piece to cut the other small section of the door. Again, these two pieces will be the sides of the finished bench.

cut out

Now that the sides were cut, we needed to cut down one of the bigger pieces from the cut door by one inch.

larger side of door

The two larger pieces of the door will be the back and the seat of the bench. The seat piece fit the sides perfectly, but we needed the back to be cut by an inch so that it was flush with the top of the sides and so that the seat wasn’t too low on the bench.

sander

Making A Bench From An Old Door Is A Great Ways To Keep Doors Out Of The Landfill

Once all the pieces were cut, it was time to sand. I wanted to keep the look of the old door but wanted to clean it up a bit. I loved the areas that had the white paint on them and the patina on the rest of the wood was also really good.

After the sanding was done, I wiped off all the pieces with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust.

Now, let’s put the bench together!

pocket hole

Matt got out the pocket hole kit and made pocket holes where he was going to add the screws when putting the bench together.  

pocket holes

Above is a photo of how the pocket holes look and how the screws fit deep inside the wood.

back of bench

We laid the pieces on the workbench after we screwed in the back and then, Matt screwed in the seat piece.

back of bench 

screwed the seat in

Then, he used a framing square to make sure the seat was straight and level as he screwed it in on the sides.

framing square

final bench

side view

Once the bench was put together, I rubbed Restor-A-Finish all over it. I started with the “Neutral” color, but ended up going with the “Dark Walnut”. I liked the color it gave to the raw edges we cut and it matched the patina of the rest of the door the best. 

restor

Repurposing An Old Door Into A Bench Was An Easy Project 

I am blown away!! Matt and I both said that this was a fairly easy project. We didn’t use any other wood other than the door.

Let me say that again for the people in the back: This bench is made with a door and that’s it!

I LOVE repurposing! 

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

An old door, some tools, a curvy drawing and we came away with an amazing piece!

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

The sun was coming in differently when I was taking pictures of the finished bench, but I just went with it. 

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

I am just blown away. 

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

If we were to do it again, we would add more wood support under the seat. The door we used was tall so it made a longer bench. A smaller door would need less support because the bench wouldn’t be as long. 

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

The integrity of the old door is still intact. 

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

We don’t have a spot for this one so it went to a good home. But, my hunt for old, amazing doors has just intensified because I can’t wait to try this again with a different door. 

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

Here is my YouTube video showing the process of putting this together:

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

After seeing this tutorial on how to build a bench from an old door, is this a project you would try? 

PIN THIS POST!

Benches are a great piece of furniture for so many spaces and this DIY tutorial will show you how to build a bench from an old door!

If you liked this tutorial, you will love these tutorials:

How To Get A Weathered Wood Look Easily

DIY Industrial Coffee Table From A Metal Cabinet

DIY Cabinet Makeover With A Heat Gun

 

You may also like
DIY ProjectsFurniture

Antique Headboard Turned Bench

This antique headboard turned bench DIY was a great way to repurpose a broken bed frame that still had a lot of…
DIY ProjectsFurniture

Green Bench Makeover Tutorial

I love the color green and little benches make me so happy. This green bench makeover was easy to do and updated…
DIY ProjectsFurniture

How To Build A Wood Bench

Wood benches come in all shapes, sizes and styles. We have them around our house in different areas for different things. They…

22 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *