What Bali inspired side yard would be without a meditation bench? A peaceful spot to enjoy the quiet and serenity… Or your bench could be taken over by two over-sized dogs? Either way this DIY bench can serve two purposes.

We scored an antique collapsible cot at the Sacramento Antique fair a few weeks back for $15. It was a bit rusted and the springs were ready to snap. First we cut away the mesh and springs with heavy duty wire cutters. 

We gave it a quick spray of black spray paint, Rustoleum’s rust reformer to cover most of the rust. However since we had only a little left, and wanted an antique look we only used one coat. Then we had Home Depot cut 4 of the 12 foot (2 inch x 1/2 inch) sanded redwood boards in half for the bench slats. Also we found two pieces of redwood 2x4s in their scrap bin and had them cut to 29 1/2 inch pieces which we used for the under base to support the middle. Once everything was home we placed all the wood on the cot as a “mock up”, then used a sharpie to mark where each hole would be. Using a 1/4 ” bit, drilled holes in the wood at each mark. Then we screwed our 1/4″ machine screws into the wood. Each screw was secured to the cot with 1/4″ hex nuts underneath.

(The 6 foot redwood slats are sitting atop the two horizontal 2×4 pieces in the middle) With an early fall shower approaching we moved the project into the garage and stained the wood with Preserva wood redwood stain. (A nice side note, because the cot is collapsible, we can fold and store it away for the winter months.)

Once dried, we placed our new meditation bench in the side yard. Of course, before we could even snap  the perfect ‘after’ shot, Sierra found herself a new bed.

So what will it be, a meditation bench or outdoor dog bed?

If your dogs are like ours, they may decide for you…