How to Make Rustic Chairs

For inexpensive rustic furniture, consider making a willow twig chair.

Homemade furniture, easy to make and easy on the wallet, adds a rustic look to your home and garden. You can make bent willow twig furniture, a classic rustic American style, with basic woodworking tools and access to a willow grove. The rustic willow chair is a simple beginning project, effortlessly altered to customize the size and style you seek.

Things You'll Need

• Hammer
• Nails
• Handsaw
• Heavy-duty file or sander
• 50 feet of 1 1/2-inch diameter willow branches
• 15 willow switches, 4 to 5 feet long and 3/4-inch diameter
• 30 willow switches, 3 feet long and 1/2-inch diameter
• Wood varnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Design your chair. A standard-sized chair will stand approximately 14 inches, with back legs of 28 inches or more that will also serve as the chair's back. You can also make the front legs approximately 20 inches or more to serve as braces for your armrests. The chair's depth should be approximately 21 inches, but you can vary this based on the type of chair you want to make and the availability of longer willow switches.

2. Cut the 1 1/2-inch diameter willow branches to serve as your arms. The design of your chair determines the length of the legs. File or sand the bottoms of the branches to create a level surface.

3. Build the frame of your chair by halves; line up a front and back leg almost parallel to one another, giving the rear leg a slight backward tilt, and nail two braces between them. The upper brace should fit approximately 1 inch from the top of the shorter front leg and should have a slight downward tilt before it meets the rear leg. The angle of the upper bracer and the rear leg should be slightly less than 90 degrees, while the angle of the upper bracer and the front leg should be 90 degrees. Nail the lower bracer to each leg parallel to the ground and approximately 3 inches from the bottom of the chair. Repeat for each side of the chair.

4. Stand the two halves of the chair up approximately 18 inches apart, and attach them with two 1 1/2-inch diameter willow bracers placed at the front and back of the chair, approximately 3 inches up from the lowest perpendicular bracer. Nail another bracer across the back of the chair, approximately 3 inches down from the top.

5. Add additional braces across the lower frame of the chair, parallel to the bracers across the front and back. These braces will add additional tension and make the chair sturdier.

6. Build the armrests using the flexible 3/4-inch diameter switches. Attach one end of the switch to the back of the chair next to the original upper brace installed in Step 1. Run the switch parallel to that brace until the end of the brace, nailing it in place, and then curve the end of the willow down to the middle brace, and nail it into place. Repeat on the other side of the armrest brace so that the armrest brace is widened by the curved willow switches. Repeat on both arms of the chair.

7. Build the headrest by curving a 3/4-inch diameter switch between the two back legs. Vary the height based on your original design and how much headrest you want to provide. Nail the arched willow in place. Make another arch lower on the frame, nailed to the inside of the back legs. Line the head and back rest with the 3/4-inch diameter willow switches, cut to meet the length of the arch and nailed approximately 1/2-inch apart to the bracer that will form the back of the seat.

8. Build the seat of the chair by laying another 1 1/2-inch cross piece across the middle of the chair seat, parallel to the middle bracers placed in Step 2. The seat should be approximately 14 inches from the ground. Line the seat of the chair with additional 3/4-inch diameter willow switches, nailed 1/2 inch apart to the cross pieces placed in Step 2, parallel to the brace placed in this step. Trim the switches to make them even with the chair frame.

9. Varnish and weatherproof your chair as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Alter the thickness of the willow switches according to your desired chair sturdiness and appearance.

• Make sure your chair is very sturdy before attempting to sit in it. Rock it in several directions to see if any of the braces need reinforcement.

• Wear gloves and goggles to ensure your safety.

References

• Stick Site: Make a Willow Chair
• Made Man: How to Make Rustic Furniture; Annette Smith; Sept. 5, 2010

Resources

• Furniture Styles: Rustic Twig & Bent Willow Furniture