Great-gramma and her beau used to do some serious clutching on her parents settee. That is when the old Puritans were in the kitchen churning butter. The small sofa is not all that conducive to spooning, but if you do things right …
The whole idea of what the Canadian’s call a Davenport originated in the early 1300’s, when some French-guy came up with a piece of furniture he called a “couche.” At that time, you could spoon on one of these things. As a matter of fact, in Frog-speak “coucher” actually means “to lie down.” The one big difference between a couch and the economy-sized model is best posed as a question:
Have you ever heard of a settee potato?
Simplicity
You can get all stylish; adding cushions, padded armrests and rocket engines, but we’re going to stay truly mission-style with the one below. The bulk of a settee consists of three pieces: Where you set your butt, rest your back and the legs to lift it from the floor. It’s somewhat like a park bench if the coach hid the steroids.
Arms are optional, as is the length of the unit. This one will accommodate two square pillows, but if you want a third cushion, measure and cut for the extra length. While oak will work, if you want to make one that will take on extra girth, go with an ipe wood or jatoba.
Stuff
The cut of the pieces of the wood, again, is for a pair of peeps. Go get:
- 4 posts that are 2¼-inches square by 34½-inches
- 3 rails that are 1-by-4-inches that are 52¼-inches long
- 13 slats, ½-inch-by-21¼-inches-by 5-inches
- A pair of cleats 51-inches long by 1-inch square
- 4 1-by-4’s that are 24¼-inches long
Get It Together
Set-out the slats and the rails, mortising all of them 5/8th of an inch deep. As you see above, you’ve got the precise dimensions for this part. While you’re slicing-out the mortises, get them as square as you can.
Also, be aware, we’ve added an extra ½-inch to the posts so the corners can be sloped on the top ends.
Purchase some super-durable stainless steel nails to hammer into the posts where they criss-cross the rail tenons. Use standard wood glue to schlep the joints together. Clamp, let dry and finish it off with paint or stain. However, you can refrain from this if you use ipé. It ages much better than your great-gramma without an inch of rouge on her cheeks.