As we arrive at mid-February, I really start looking ahead to spring and summer and warmer weather. My home has a front porch that is perfect for sitting out on warm summer nights. It’s ideal for sipping a drink as people walk their dogs or ride golf carts around the neighborhood.

Last year, I built some chairs to go on the front porch based on these plans from Ana White. It really elevated the space compared to what I started with. I have already gotten a lot of use out of them. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you know I’m a huge fan of Ana. I have made multiple pieces of furniture based on free plans from her site. It’s a tremendous resource.

Prepping lumber for my chairs

I started by cutting all my wood to the dimensions in the plan using my miter saw. It’s nice to get this part done up front and then it goes together pretty quickly. From there, I used my Kreg pocket hole foreman to quickly drill pocket holes where needed. I recently upgraded to this from the standard pocket hole jig and I absolutely love it. If you drill a lot of pocket holes, this is a huge time saver. These chairs are made completely out of 2x4s, which keeps things pretty simple.

Assembling the front porch chairs

Now that I had prepped my lumber, it was time to put the chairs together. I began by assembling the two sides, or arms. Since I had already drilled all my pocket holes, I attached these with pocket hole screws.

Next, I completed the rest of the framing for the bottom part of the chairs. This included the slats for the seats.

The final part of assembly was to attach the back to the frame. At this point, they truly looked like chairs! After the chairs were put together it was time for my least favorite part, sanding.

I selected the stain I wanted from Lowes and then got to work. I chose a stain and sealer made for outdoors with a neutral base tinted to the shade Spicy Brown.

I was very happy with the color the chairs turned out. It is a nice, neutral brown that helps to warm up my the front of my house.

Cushions and pillows for the chairs

At this point it was time to accessorize the chairs. I ended up getting some cushions from Lowes and some pillows that I ordered from Amazon. I like to order different pillows for holidays. This way, I can swap them out and be a little festive.

I’m so happy with how these turned out! I even added some other decor items to the front porch to dress it up.

Front Porch Chair Sources

Shop the items I used for this project:

Front Porch Chair Tools

Shop the tools I used for this project: