These free project plans are for an 18″ tall bench that can be stained, pained or upholstered with storage inside. I made some for Madison’s bedroom.
I posted an upholstered storage bench tutorial before but I’ve been perfecting my Sketch-up skills in the since I have to draw up plans almost daily for clients now. (I’m pleasantly overwhelmed by my current workload!) SO, here is the new and improved tutorial so you can build your own storage bench!
Tools and materials needed:
3/4″ Lumber of your choice cut into the following pieces. (MDF, Cabinet grade plywood or Sanded ply with smooth side on the inside of bench)
- 2@ 16 1/2″ x 14″ (sides)
- 2@ 16 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ (narrow sides)
- 2@ 14″ x 14″ (bottom and top)
- 2@ 12 1/2″ long scrap strips about 1″ wide (cleats)
wood glue
Finish nails and/or 1 3/4″ wood screws (I used my 16 ga nail gun and SPAX MDF screws)
Kreg pocket hole jig (if planning on painting or staining instead of upholstering)
felt or plastic bumpers to protect your floors
Staple gun and fabric for upholstering. I used 1 yard per box. *Depending on the width of your fabric you might need more or less.
Step 1: Glue and nail or screw the narrow sides INSIDE the sides. As illustrated below. Use a triangle, assembly square or corner clamps to make sure you assemble it square.
Step 1: Alternate assembly option for staining and painting so you don’t have visible nail or screw holes.
- Drill pocket holes on edges of narrow sides (12 1/2″ x 16 1/2″)
- Drive pocket hole screws on the INSIDE of the box.
Step 2: Attach bottom with glue and nails or screws. (if you bottom doesn’t line up with your sides, something is wonky. More than likely, the box isn’t square. If that is the case, convince it to get square.)
Step 3: Attach the cleats to the top. Use wood glue and 1 1/4″ nails. The cleats need to be inset 3/4″ in from all sides.
So the cleats will fit perfectly inside the bench. The cleats will keep the top from sliding which is especially necessary when using it as a seat.
Depending on what material you use, this bench could be painted, stained or upholstered. If painting or staining, you would want to fill all nail and screw holes and sand very well.
I upholstered mine and they are coming in very handy. It’s surprising just how much these benches hold.
However you choose to finish this bench, make sure you put bumpers on the bottom to protect your flooring. The bottom was secured with nails or screws which could really scratch up wood floors, snag carpet and tear rugs. Take the extra few minutes to put bumpers on the bench!
I try my best to be accurate and awesome but I do make a mistake or two. Please verify plans and measurements yourself and note that by reading, using, sharing, doing, making, etc. anything found on Sawdust Girl.com (the blog), you are agreeing to it’s Terms of Use.
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Tags: Carpentry, Plans, Plans & Projects, projects and tutorials
Yay!! Thanks, Sandra! I may try my hand at these over the summer.
Perfect! I’m thinking I’m going to make up several of these!
Thanks!!
Wow nice storage! This would be a perfect for kids stuff…
Can you sit on these?
Yes. That was the whole idea behind the design. My daughter can slide one over and use it to sit at her desk.
It looks like you used some padding on the box & the top when you upholstered. Could you say how much and how you attached it? Thanks, think I’ll try these next month!
I just used batting and stapled it onto the sides before I put the fabric on. For the top, I bought 2′ thick 14″ x 14″ foam squares and filled the gap in with more batting then stapled the fabric on it.
This is exactly what I had envisioned four our living room! We are in desperate need of more seating, but don’t have much space for more chairs or a couch. Plus, storage is always a need with a toddler and another baby almost here. I’m going to get to work on this right away and hopefully have them done within the week. I’ll post a follow-up about how they turned out!
Great, I’d love to see your finished project!
Good plan . .. getting the most out of a sheet of Plywood. There is one little error in ther text. This line – “You’ll have to trim 2 of the 16 1/2″ x 14″ pieces down to 16 1/2″ x 12″ per bench” should say “trim to 16 1/2″ x 12 1/2″. Don’t mean to be picky but you shouldn’t let engineers read these things if you don’t want a stickler for numbers
Thank you for bringing that to my attention.