Monday, March 15, 2010

Building a Shoe Storage Bench

Thanks to the amazing plans and tips from Ana on Knock-Off Wood, Mr. Delightful and I were able to complete our very first wood working project. We made good use of my new air powered nailer and a borrowed miter saw to quickly put this happy little bench together.


We used the Brady Entryway Open Bench Plans, although we modified them slightly. Instead of using MDF and making the bench 23-3/4" deep, we used 1x12s to create a narrower bench to fit in the tight space near the door between our garage and our house. The width and trim dimensions were the same as the original plans. It just happened to work out that the width of 30-1/2" was exactly the distance between the front edge of our cabinets and the edge of the trim around the pantry door. It was just meant to be. We did also slightly change the plans by adding the bottom piece of trim to the outside face instead of adding it underneath the bottom shelf.

Here's Mr. Delighful Dwelling helping to assemble the bench. With the nailer, miter saw, and Ana's super simple to follow plans, we were able to build this bench in no time.


I decided to use beadboard as the backing. However, since the bench is so deep and will have shoes stored in it, you can't reallly see the pattern of the beadboard.


After filling all the nail holes and sanding with my power sander, I added a coat of primer. I followed this up with a coat of Valspar semi-gloss paint in a cheerful sage green. I have no idea what the technical name of the color is, it was a custom mistint that I picked up at Lowe's for $2.50.  Overall, I think the project cost us somewhere in the $25 range. It's not perfect. The lumber is full of knots and not completely straight, but it fits perfectly in our little "mudroom nook." The shelves are just the right size for shoe storage.


Of course, no project is ever fully complete until it gets the official kitty seal of approval.



I had so much fun with this project that I had Mr.Delightful help me crank out another bench following a different set of Ana's wonderful plans. Stay tuned for the finished product.


15 comments:

  1. very cool project - i love the color you chose!

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  2. That looks great! Congrats on the first build. I bet it will be the first of many.

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  3. Looks great! :) I like the color a lot. Funny how cats seem to show up when it's picture time. ;) Visiting from Kimba's party. Hope you'll stop by. :)

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  4. i love it and the color is perfect!

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  5. Turned out great and I'm lovin the color!

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  6. Amazing job! And I also love the color. And the pillow on top...nice extra touch!

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  7. It's beautiful! You guys did a great job!
    Can't wait to see what you do next. :)

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  8. How cool! I've been wanting to build one of Ana's plans for a long time now too. You did a great job! I can't wait to see waht you do next!

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  9. What a great project. Love the color. And I love that the kitty approves. Our kitty has to have her nose in every project I do too.

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  10. Hey Sara - I mentioned you in my blog post today! BTW, very impressed with the woodworking skills. I need to beef mine up...

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  11. I love it! Love seeing kitty by the door, waiting for food? :)

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  12. I need something like this to put under the stairs. Our shoes usually just get piled up on the steps and I hate that!

    Love it!

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  13. Looks great! I like it better than the ones I bought at Target...this is much thicker and look more like furniture. Great job!

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  14. Hi, You have very good blog with great pictures and good details. Please keep on posting the more stuff. I would like to hear more from you about yourself.

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