One Board Stools And Benches | Easy Tutorial

If you need a quick little step stool for the top cabinet, a short bench for the grandkids, or an extra spot to park your bum, this one-board build is about as simple as it gets. I made a batch of these easy one-board stools and benches from bargain boards and scrap lumber, then sped things up by assembling them with pocket holes. You can adjust the size to fit whatever board you have on hand, making this a perfect “use what you’ve got” project.

Cheap Lumber Bargains

Do you remember these boards I picked up at Vendors’ Village? They were perfect for some of these stools and benches.

I made these stools and benches like the one board project stool I made a few months ago. I let the size of the boards determine the size of the stool/bench.

In addition, I have a lot of scrap pieces left over from 1×8’s. You can see them on the top shelf. This is an old picture, but they were still available three years later.

Visit the My Repurposed Life Amazon Store to shop my favorite items.

Easy One Board Stools assembled using pocket holes

The difference between these stools and the one-board project stool is how I attached the legs to the top. I used screws on the original project, but to make these stools/benches go faster, I used my Kreg Jig and pocket hole screws.

I worked on an assembly line, cutting, drilling, and assembling boards.

Wood screws and Gorilla wood glue are the best options to secure the middle brace.

I used those 1×8 scrap pieces and some odds-and-ends scrap pieces of 2x6s. The length of my boards determined the size of the small benches. I’m a use-what-you-got kind of girl.

Assorted Painting Options

I whitewashed the 2×8 stools/benches like the original one-board project stool. The legs on these stools are about 8 1/4″, which makes them almost 10″ off the ground.

See complete directions for cutting these stools in my One Board Project Stool article.

I painted a gray primer coat on all of the 1x stools. I’m preparing to paint the one in the foreground.

These are three stools/benches after the gray primer and various topcoats.

One Board Stools-All Shapes, Sizes, and Colors

The whitewashed stools are on the left, with a rough-sawn board bench on top. I used the rough-sawn boards years ago when I built this shutter bookshelf. I love how the paint took to the rough wood.

TIP! Whitewash the stools with thinned-down latex paint. Use the hose to remove some paint if your coverage is too heavy. 

PIN IT!

NOTE: you can see how I secured the screw through the leg into the middle brace on that bench. (top left)

I used one of Angie’s Stencils for this small green stool made of 1x’s.

I used a binder sheet on this stool to print a reversed image, then rubbed it on the stool.

A fleur-de-lis stencil was used on this whitewashed easy step stool.

These are the stools/benches I made with 1x boards.

And these are the ones I made using 2x lumber.

They are in my booth at Vendors’ Village, ready to go to a new home.

I kept my original stool for personal use. I love how versatile these stools and benches are!

gail