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DIY Upholstered Storage Bench

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Today I’m sharing woodworking plans for the upholstered storage benches that I made for Madison”s bedroom.  They are SUPER easy!  So now you can make your own storage bench or benches!

Upholstered Storage Bench Tutorial from @Sawdust Girl

How to build an upholstered storage bench.

I built these 18″ tall so she can slide one over and use it as a chair when she wants to do homework at her desk/hutch.  That way, we don’t have to have a designated chair taking up valuable floor space in this tiny bedroom. And the benches double as storage for all the things that never get used but we can’t seem to part with.

Upholstered Storage Bench Tutorial from @Sawdust Girl

The boxes are SUPER easy to build.  I upholstered mine so I used an inexpensive plywood that is sanded on one side and the other side is pretty rough.  I used the smooth side for the inside of the boxes and covered the outside.  If you wanted to stain or paint, you could use MDF to paint or a  nice cabinet grade plywood for stain.  (See: selecting the Right Material for a project for more information about that.)

Materials:  

3/4″ Lumber of your choice cut into the following pieces.

  • 2@    16 1/2″ x 14″  lumber
  • 2@    16 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ lumber
  • 2@    14″ x 14″ lumber
  • 2@    scrap strips of lumber  OR  4@ scrap blocks of lumber  (any size will do)
  • wood glue
  • Finish nails and/or 1 3/4″ wood screws
  • 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.

Cutlist

You can build 3 benches of this size out of one 4×8 sheet of lumber if you have it cut like this. 
Upholstered storage benches - cut list

Build a diy Upholstered Storage Bench

The box is going to be 18″ tall overall so you want to make sure you orient the sides so the 16 1/2″ length is the “Top-Bottom” portion of your box.

Step 1

  • Place the two 14″ wide side pieces so they will be parallel. 
  • Attach the 12 1/2″ wide side pieces INSIDE the 14″ wide pieces — creating a 14″ x 14″ square box.  
  • Use wood glue and screws or nails and screws.  Either one or the other is fine.  I like to shoot in some nails to keep everything in place while I drive in my screws.

free-project-plans-upholstered-storage-bench-tutorial
Upholstered storage bench tutorial Step 2

  • Attach a 14″ x 14″ piece on the bottom of the box.Upholstered storage bench tutorial

Step 3

  • Attach cleats on to the top piece to keep the lid from sliding around if someone sits on it.  
    • I used a scrap of wood about 1″ wide by 12 1/2″ long
    • Make sure to leave 3/4″ of space on all sides of the outside of the cleats so the cleats will fit INSIDE the box.Upholstered storage bench tutorialUpholstered storage bench tutorial

Step 4

Upholster, paint or stain.

I am not a pro at upholstering and pretty much stumbled my way through the process so I’m not going to try to “teach” you how to do it.  Here’s what I did:

  • Stapled on some batting
  • Sewed the fabric together at the ends, creating a loop
  • Pulled the loop onto the box
  • folded the fabric over the top edge of the lid
  • stapled the edges down onto the top lid and onto the bottom of the box.  

Bam  — Just like that!  

I actually spend a whole day upholstering 3 benches.  It was a learning process.

Upholstered storage bench tutorial

Step 5

Attach bumpers on the bottom of your benches.  This is especially important if you stapled fabric onto the bottom of the boxes.  Those staples might scratch your floors if you don’t protect them.

Upholstered Storage Bench Tutorial from @Sawdust Girl

I purchased the fabric at Hobby Lobby and it’s held up quite well.

Measure twice and cut once. ALWAYS use safety gear to protect your eyes, ears, lungs.

As always, look over your plans and make sure everything make sense to you before you start building.  And check out my other woodworking plans for benches you might like building!

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Comments

  1. Love them! I brought some ottoman, but you gave me an idea to use some fabric I have left over & redo them. Thanks for sharing. I love the chalkboard wall. I wish we had a Hobby Lobby close by.

    • Cool. I’ve lived with Hobby Lobby and then without and then with… Every time we move it seems we either move back into or back out of their area! Here in TN, we have them, yeah! LOL

    • Thanks Sheila! I have to say, when I saw that yellow chevron I made a B-line for it. They had less than a yard left but I bought it anyway and made it work. LOVE that fabric!

    • Thanks Beckie. I was a little skeptical about using the yellow against the black wall — didn’t want to scream “bumble bee”! But I love how they work together.

  7. I *love* these!! So smart and so clever. I have been wanting something like this for my home, and to use fabric of my own choosing makes it even better!

    • The beauty of being able to make your own “anything” is complete customization! (And the fact that it generally costs a LOT less. heehee)

    • The would. If you plan on adding feet, you probably want to adjust the height of the bench accordingly so you don’t end up with a seat height fit for a giant. 🙂

  13. This is great! Did you have to use batting on the lower portion of the ottoman as well as the top? Or just the top?

  14. These are fabulous! I’m not sure I’m up to building my own box from scratch yet but I might try upholstering an existing one.

    Did you pad the tops? It’d be cool to make one that was strong (and soft) enough to sit on so it’d double up as a little stool.

  16. Sandra – I’m new to following you – we actually did meet at Haven – but i was SO new to blogging at that point – much of that is a BLUR to me!
    I was really inspired by your closet video – just saw it last night. I think these boxes might be more my speed though!! I’d love to give this a try. I’m not sure I can keep everything square – but i think i might give it a shot!
    breida

    • I think I used 1 1/2 yard each but that would change depending on the width of the fabric you used.

  18. Thanks for this tutorial! I might have to make a couple for my daughter’s room. I have an ugly black storage ottoman in our master bedroom that holds some toys for her to play with while I get ready. I’m thinking I need to get some fabric and recover that. Great idea!

  19. These are adorable! I love the chevron!

    I have one question. In the diagram of how the 4×8 should be cut. I don’t see the cuts for the pieces that should measure 16 1/2 x 12 1/2.

    It looks like there are 12 sides that measure 16 1/2 x 14, and 6 pieces that measure 14×14.
    Am I missing something?

    Thanks 🙂

    • Thanks Kensey. You’ll have to trim two of the 16 1/2 x 14″ pieces down to 16 1/2″ x 12″ — for each bench. The diagram was to show how you could get all your pieces for three benches out of one sheet of lumber. Sorry for the confusion.

  20. These are gorgeous. I just love double duty furniture.
    Just a note–I found this pin on pinterest. Unfortunately, someone pinned irresponsibly and the pin did not lead back to your site. I found you by typing your photo copyright in google–so good thing you did that copyright thing!

  21. Thank you so much for this tutorial- it’s taking all my strength not to run to Lowe’s right now and get started! I am definitely going to try making two of these, can’t wait!

  22. Omg I am so doing this ! I’ve been searching the web all day trying to find one long enough for a king sized bed and have yet to discover one that’s reasonable in price . How would I make one to put in front of my king ? I would really love some pointers. Also I want it stable enough to sit out without breaking in pieces please help I can give you my demension . On the ikea website my bed is called bekkestua !! I’d really appreciate it !

  23. Love these little storage benches! And I’m another one that is really interested in a storage bench fit for a King (sized bed, that is…haha how corny).

  25. Am I the only dork who doesn’t know what bumpers are? What do they look like? I looked the term up, but without luck.

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