Building a Kid-Sized Adirondack Chair for Charity

A co-worker of mine is putting together a benefit for her friend's sick child. As part of the benefit, they are going to auction off some items. She had asked for any kind of donation for the auction.

Since this is a benefit for a child, I wanted it to be something kid-orientated. I also wanted something that was gender neutral, so I decided to build this cute Adirondack chair.

The plans I used for this chair can be found in Ana White's book The Handbuilt Home. Because of that, I'm not going to give you the exact details about this build. I'm sure that there is some type of copyright that I would be violating if I gave you all the details. I highly recommend buying this book if you don't already have it. Ana White makes building so easy! She does have a bunch of free plans for Adirondack chairs on her website, but the book plan is slightly different.

Here are the steps I took to make the chair.

Step 1: Cut your wood to the measurements in the book.

Step 2: Attach the armrest support to the front and back legs. For all of these steps, I like to glue it first and then screw the pieces together. You have to make two of these side pieces. Remember, the set should not be identical, but the pieces should mirror each other. The supports should face the inside of the chair.

 Step 3: Attach the armrests to each side.

Step 4: Attach the stringers. These should also face the inside of the chair.

Step 5: Attach the front apron.

Step 6: Attach the seat boards. The ends of these will rest on the side stringers.

Step 7: Lay out the back pieces. Make sure to evenly space the boards. Attach the back supports.

Step 8: Attach the back to the chair.

Step 9: Fill any holes with putty, sand everything, and paint or stain to your liking.

I, actually, put another coat of paint on the chair after I took the top picture, but I forgot to take a picture of it completed. I did take this picture. This is my three-year old niece giving it a try before I gave it to my co-worker to auction off.

Hopefully, the benefit is a success and some little boy or girl will enjoy it!