MDF? OMG! Build Your Own Banquette Bench

MDF Bench

By contributing partner and guest blogger, Isabelle LaRue


Have you ever searched for a specific piece of furniture for a room in your home only to find that there isn’t anything ready-made that will work? This happened to me when I was looking for a banquette bench for my dining room. After looking in countless stores and online and not finding what I was looking for, I decided the best course of action was to design and build my own bench using 3/4” thick MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard).

This was my first build using MDF and it gave me the opportunity to try and fall in love with SPAX MDF/hardwood screws - they are amazing because you don’t have to drill pilot holes to prevent the wood from splitting and they countersink themselves so there’s no need to use a countersink drill bit.

My bench design called for these following 3/4" thick MDF pieces, which I had cut at the hardware store to make things easier. Here's how I put it together:

Step 1: Attach the legs to the top

I put glue on the top edge of the leg, used corner clamps to hold it to the top and attached the legs to the top with 2 1/2” SPAX MDF screws. The SPAX screws don’t require pre-drilling to prevent the wood from splitting but if you’re like me and have a hard time driving the screws in without having them fall off the bit, you can drill a starter hole.

There’s no need to use a countersink drill bit with SPAX MDF screws because they automatically countersink themselves. Love that!

Step 2: Attach the back piece

I screwed in place the back piece flush with the top and the legs, following the same steps as for the legs.

Step 3: Attach the front piece

To have more support at the front of the bench, I glued together 2 MDF pieces to make one thicker piece, using clamps to make sure they bonded very well together.

I wanted the front piece to be recessed by about 1 inch so I used a combination square to mark the location of the front piece on the inside of the legs, making it easy to slide the front piece in the right spot.

I added glue to the edge and clamped it, then I screwed it into place from the top and the sides, making sure to avoid the screw that was already there from joining the top to the legs.

Step 4: Add decorative molding

To give a little bit more interest to the sides of the bench, I added decorative molding made with 1 1/4" lattice. I used a combination square to mark the location of the top piece of lattice, and I also marked the middle of the lattice piece, making it easy to nail exactly in the right spot. I pre-nailed the nails into the lattice to save my fingers!

Step 5: Prep the bench for painting

I filled in the screw heads with wood filler and sanded that down. To give a nice finish to the edges, I brushed them with wood glue diluted with a bit of water, waited for that to dry and sanded it down. I repeated that a couple of times until the edges were nice and smooth. This prevents the paint from getting sucked into the edges and leaves a nice smooth surface for painting.

Step 6: Paint the bench

I primed the bench and then painted it with a couple of coats of paint and voila, a finished bench! You can see the entire building process for the bench in this video (https://youtu.be/Ul_XvBkj2cQ), including how I made the no-sew cushion to make my bench more comfortable.

Isabelle LaRue is the creator, producer and host of the award winning DIY home show "Engineer Your Space". Isabelle designs solutions that transform less-than-perfect spaces into beautiful and functional homes. Featured in well known online publications, you can see more from Isabelle at http://www.engineeryourspace.com/ or find her on Facebook, Twitter,Pinterest and YouTube.