Double Cedar Planter Bench

Screw the planter legs and horizontal supports into four identical open frames with the 2-3/4" screws. These frames are the structure of everything — the planters' skeletons and, later, the bench's anchor points. Check them against each other, not just the tape.

Bevel the tops of the cladding pickets at 45° (long point), then screw pickets to each frame with the 1-5/8" screws — bevels up and facing out, shedding water away from the box.

Join each pair of clad frames into a cube with the remaining pickets across the open faces. Two finished planter boxes, chamfered rims all around.

Miter the trim pieces at 45° and cap each planter's rim — ripped-picket trim for the all-one-material look, 1x3 if you're skipping the table saw. The mitered cap is what moves the planters from 'fence offcuts' to 'furniture'.

Build the 48" bench frame independently — rails and crosspieces, 2-3/4" screws. Then attach it between the planters, screwed into the INNER 2x4 FRAMES, never just the picket cladding: the pickets are skin, the frames are bone.

Seat height not landing on a frame member? Add 2x4 blocking inside the planters at the right height and fasten to that. Sit-test with two adults before trusting it to a party.

Screw the four 48" seat pickets across the bench frame with the shorter screws, even gaps, edges sanded generously — bare legs sit here.

Set the planter bases at liner-pot depth on cleats or blocking, drop in the liners, and plant. Soil is the final structural component: once the planters are loaded, this bench isn't going anywhere, which on a windy deck is exactly the point.