Shaker-Inspired Bench - Part 1

Every-time I walk into our house I want a place to sit down and take my shoes off without having to walk on the carpet.  Our entry-way has tile floors and I wanted to build a bench.

At first, I was going to build this grand bench that included a coat-rack and storage, but determined that it would be too big.  I settled on a "Shaker-Inspired" bench that would be simple, yet sturdy to endure years of abuse.

After some research I came up with a very simple design, that I new would help me to learn some new woodworking techniques. The last few projects (including the magazine rack) I have been designing in my head, and then just building it.  This has been much tougher than I originally thought as I have been used to building from already designed plans, typically from someone else.

 I knew what I wanted the dimensions to be, and that there would be a top, two legs and a stretcher.  After buying the wood (Poplar since it would be painted), I milled everything up and continued the design process by setting it up on my workbench and visualizing how it would all come together.