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How to DIY a Storage Bench Mudroom

July 8, 2020 by crystelmont Leave a Comment

Photo of grey mudroom with storage bench, closed shelving and christmas decor
Gray mudroom with bench, coat closet and decorated for Christmas

When I decided to finish the mudroom on the other side of my entryway, I determined that instead of building more open shelving and cubbies like I did on the other side I needed to add as much closed storage as possible since our 95 year old home was so lacking. I really wanted a storage bench that would allow me to store some blankets in it since we didn’t have a linen closet downstairs. Let me show you how I did it!

Entryway with blank white walls, front door and wood floor

This entryway was an add-on to the original home just months before we moved in. It had black tile that was damaged while we were taking out the two front doors it covered, so I decided to continue the flooring we put in the main living area into the entryway over the tile. I built one side of the mudroom HERE, now time to finish the other side!

Materials

3/4″ MDF
1×2 Furring strips for face frame
2x4x8 boards for base
crown molding
2x12x8 (or longer depending on your bench size)
Paintable Caulk
Wood glue
1 1/2” screws
1 1/2” Brad nails
Paint
Paint Supplies (Brush, roller, tape, etc)
Coat Hooks

Tools

Table Saw or Circular Saw
Miter Saw
Saw guide (if using circular saw)
Brad Nailer
Pocket Hole Jig
Hand Drill
Level
Speed Square
Drywall Square
Pencil

Building the Base

Me looking at a cabinet carcass and 2x4 base for bench

I started by building a simple base out of 2 x 4’s, and I also built a simple box out of MDF for my cabinet. Originally I built a base for my cabinet as well, but I accidentally built my cabinet too tall and it wouldn’t fit with the base. So I settled with just putting it on the ground. I wanted to build the base so that I could easily fasten it to the studs in the wall as well as raise it off the ground in order to add baseboard.

bench base with shims underneath right side

Whoever built the entryway did not level it out. There is a very obvious slope in the floor from where the exterior used to be, so I had to shim up my base big time on one side to make it level.

Me adding a piece of MDF to build the side of my bench carcass

Once I had my base in I built the box for my bench out of MDF. I could have put full piece on the back wall but I had an outlet that I didn’t want to cover up and I also wanted to conserve wood, so I just screwed in some strips of MDF instead. I could have built my box for the bench first and then set it on top of my base, but it worked out better for me to attach them with 1 1/4″ brad nails as I went.

cabinet carcass and bench carcass

Adding the Trim

Me adding the upper face plate to the tall cabinet carcass

After I had my bench in, I trimmed it out with strips of MDF, which is always my favorite part because that’s when things look exciting! For the front of my tall cabinet I used wood rather than MDF because I was going to be attaching a door to it and needed it to be strong. I also made sure the upper face frame of my cabinet was extra tall so that I would have enough room to attach both crown molding and a door to it and still have a decent amount of space in between. You want to be sure you have plenty of room for the door to lay flat when it’s closed.

Me adding the face frame and crown molding to the cabinet, bench is trimmed

I added a shelf with cleats underneath to support it because I forgot to do that before I installed it, then added the crown molding and face frame.

Building the Upper Cabinets

Me screwing the corbels onto the backing
Me attaching the corbels and backing to the wall

Next up was to install the shelving. I removed some of the crown molding because I decided to do closed shelving rather than open shelving at this point. For my corbels I used a triangle piece of 2×10 and some scrap pieces of oak screwed together, and this time around I attached them to my backing before I attached it to the wall. This made it so I could screw them in from behind and hide the screws, rather than screwing them in from the front.

Scrap wood being screwed together to make a corbel
Me placing the upper cabinet carcass onto the top of the corbels on the wall

For the upper cabinets I built a box out of some scrap plywood and put a backer on it. I then used that to attach it to the studs in the wall. I shoved it in there and it fit perfectly snug!

progress shot of the mudroom with completed face frames and trim

Again I added the face frame made out of wood, attaching with 1 1/4″ brad nails. You could build it all and screw it together first and slap it up there, but I decided to screw it in as I went. This made it a little tricky for adding the middle supports, but I drilled pocket holes with my kreg jig and screwed them in from behind so the screws were concealed.

mudroom progress with completed crown molding and bench trim

From there I added my crown molding. I had never done an inside corner for crown molding before, but I watched this YouTube Video and it helped me a lot!

Crown molding showing gaps and nail holes

I left a pretty good gap in there, but after I caulked and painted it you would never know it was there! The next time I attempted this it looked much better. 🙂

Building the Bench Top

Me screwing together 2x10's with pocket holes to make bench top

Next it was time to build the bench top! I started by running one long side of two 2×10’s through my table saw to square off the edge. Then I drilled several sets of pocket holes in one of them and screwed the two pieces together. Since I shaved off the end it made it have a nice tight fit with no gaps. I also shaved down a 2×3 to use as the fixed piece that would hold the other side of the hinge.

Me screwing on continuous hinge onto bench top

After staining with Minwax Special Walnut I screwed on this continuous hinge and this lid support to allow me to open up the bench top. The lid support allows me to lift it up so it will stay, and also keeps it from slamming down on fingers.

Finishing it up!

Me painting finished mudroom sans doors

And finally, time to caulk, wood filler and paint! I caulked all the corner seams and wood fillered all the flat seams. Once the wood filler dried I sanded it down and painted it Anew Gray by Sherwin Williams.

Completed painted mudroom with doors installed and christmas decor

I built the doors using this method I found on YouTube, but didn’t get any pictures of the process. It’s best to use a hardwood like poplar for the doors, or you might end up frustrated like I was because soft wood will warp and won’t cut straight.

Completed painted mudroom with storage bench and christmas decor

See that exposed brick right there? Since the entryway was an add-on, that is the brick that used to be the exterior! Isn’t it beautiful?

Please be sure to save this for reference by pinning the image below!

Gray mudroom with storage bench decorated for Christmas with text overlay

Thank you for following along and leave any questions in the comment section below!

XOXO,

Crystel Montenegro Signature Stamp

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Filed Under: DIY Projects, Woodworking Tagged With: DIY Built-ins, Entryway, Mudroom, Storage Bench

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