Hi Friends, y’all know how much I love me a good DIY, and it’s been a few weeks since I shared on my Instagram, my new Adirondack chairs, built from plans by Ana White. While I was in the process of building 5 of her 2×4 Modern Adirondack Chairs for our fire pit area, I ran out of wood for the last one. But, I called this a happy accident because what came from this mistake was pure genius!
Since Ana did such an amazing job documenting the process of building these chairs, I am just going to share with you the process of modifying the chairs, to create vertical slats in the back. If you are interested in building Ana White’s Adirondack chair, click here for plans.
Cut List:
6-2×4 @19 1/2″ (2 for legs, 1 for front apron, 1 for back support, 1 for seat board support, 1 as a brace on bottom of legs)
2-2×4 @30″ (arms, I chose a shorter length than Ana as I didn’t want such a steep recline)
2-2×4 @33 1/4 cut at 20 degrees off square (stringers)
2-1×10 @22 1/2″ (Seat)
2-1×10 @30″ (Back Boards)
****This is where the plan changes, before Ana’s step 4****
I took one of the 19.5″ boards and screwed it to the back support.
View from above
Next, I placed my two seat back boards, resting directly onto the seat boards, butting them up against the arms on each side, leaving a gap down the center.
I then screwed these back boards to the support board in the center at a downward angle.
Next, I added the last 19.5″ support board in between the legs on the back of the chair, and secured it with screws from the outside . . .
and then secured the base of the back boards to the support board from the front with screws. 
And that’s it!
Lastly, I sanded them down and gave them a coat of paint. I decided to try a 2 toned look on my “oops” version, by staining the seat and back boards and painting the arms and legs black. I love how this turned out!
I made a pair for my stepfather who is a huge Cowboy’s fan, he painted them blue—don’t they look awesome?
Hi
You forgot to give the lenghts of the legs on your cutting list
Thanks
Jooste Rossouw
Author
Hello, the legs are included in the 19 1/2 in cuts (supports) there are 6-19 1/2” cuts total(which I just clarified in the post thanks to your comment ☺️).
The point of the other back was to leave a gap so water could drain instead of pooling where the back and seat meet. I like your idea and it came out looking great, but I wonder if you could modify it for that purpose.
Author
There’s a gap in between the two vertical boards, so water won’t exactly “pool.” BUt I get what you are saying.
Hi. I noticed you changed the arms from 31.75″ to 30″. This is accurate yes? It just reduces how far back the back leans?
Author
Hi Nichole, yes, exactly! It was a little too reclined for casual conversation-so this is exactly why I shortened them.
I love that idea! That’s why I struggle with adirondack chairs, but you just fixed the problem! Love the stain with the black arms, too!
I love your 2 toned stained and black paint design. What stain did you use? GORGEOUS
Author
Thanks Ashley! I used Minwax Aged Oak 🙂
This is amazing! Thank you!!
Author
Thanks Noel!
I LOVE the blue color! Whats the paint color you used?
Author
Hi Erica, Unfortunately my stepdad painted them, so I’m unsure what color he used.
Hi, can you please provide a list of screws needed (types, sizes, quantities, recommended materials). Thank you.
Author
Hi Rosane,
If you head over to Ana White’s Website (https://ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/2×4-modern-adirondack-chair) you can find a list of items needed
Hello. Nice project. I’m not fron US, so when you say a piece has “2 x 4”, is that inches? Or centimeters? Thank you
Author
Thank you! Yes, inches 🙂
Love your “ happy accident”!
How would you make this chair taller?
17” to 18 “ floor to seat?
Thanks.
Hi. Nice work! How did you attach the back support in to the arms support? Thank you
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your work and design plans.
Hi Anna,
My wife has come to love some of your idea’s. I have now built 3 different items from your plans, this being the 3rd.. I did notice in these chairs the cut list says to cut 6 at 19 1/2. And 2 stringers at 33 3/4. They were over 3 inches to long once I figured out exactly where to place them. Ended up needing them 30 1/2 to work with the plan. Was that missed in the cut list. If the legs were 2 inches taller that probably would’ve worked. Also, it didn’t say where to attach the stringers which I had to figure out. Thanks
Author
Hi Paul, thank you for your message. This project is a Modification to Ana White’s Modern Adirondack chairs. On my modification, I only changed the seat style and the arm length, so that the seat doesn’t recline so much. There was a typo, however, the stringers should be at 33 1/4″ and attached to the back of the leg at 13 3/4″ just like Ana’s. Glad you were able to work it out!
Are these comfortable? Looks like the seat angle is a little steep for getting in and out of the chair?
Not a criticism I love your chairs both the blue and especially the two tone.
thanks tim
Author
Hi Tim, they are pretty comfortable, I modified the arm length slightly from the original plans, to make it less of a recline, but I think there’s even more room to cut back on, if you prefer less of a recline.
Did you use pressure treated wood? If not, how have they held up for you?
Author
Hi Liz, I used pressure treated on some and some I didn’t. (The original plans didn’t actually call for pressure treated though. Unfortunately, when we moved we didn’t have space for them, so we gave them away. The ones I gave my stepdad (the blue painted ones) are still in great shape though (he puts them away for the winter).
Thanks for sharing, just made 7 of your style with a little change for my liking, awesome job
I have made two of these so far for our fire pit. I love the design and I plan to make two more. The only change that I made was that I made the arms an inch longer to allow for a 1” reveal. It gives you something to grab onto when you’re getting up from the chair and I like the look better than having a butt joint on the front. Other than that I love the design. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for sharing! Added this to my homeschool lesson plan this week for my 7 and 8 year old! They had so much fun making one with some scrap wood we had! We are planning on doing 5 more!!!
These look great, and I look forward to making them. I didn’t realize it until something clicked as I read through the comments, but I made a trash screen of yours several years ago for my old house (yeah, 1 diy project/5 years!). You have great style!