The Entry Bench

Redefining the meaning of productivity is always a crucial step to survival with a young baby in the home. It's been a productive day if your baby has had his diaper changed at appropriate intervals, eaten enough food and had a smile on his face a few times. (Or not, as the fussy days may be.)

That said, it still feels REALLY good to me to actually churn out an inexpensive do-it-yourself project. With snow on the ground (again) and temps keeping us indoors, I needed a little sawing and staple gunning for the soul. I started this project back before littlest man came home with us and it's been staring at me ever since, daring to be finished.

We had a sad, little spot in our foyer crying out for a little spice. I did NOT want to pay a ton of money for a fancy bench.

So, I decided to make my very own homemade entry bench with storage! Without further ado:

This is how I did it:

(1) I went to the Habitat Restore to see what I could find, rather than starting with more expensive, brand new wood. I found these, a kitchen cabinet that would go over a fridge so it's wide but not tall and a thick piece of wood to go on top for the seat:

 (2)  Removed the hardware (old and ugly!), sanded, primed and painted the cabinet. I removed the doors for ease of painting. I also enlisted the 7-year-old who was very excited to help on a painting project and loves feeling like he has accomplished something with his hands just like his mama does!

(3) Replaced the hardware with simple little knobs. Reattached doors to the main cabinet.

(4) Put cabinet liner down inside to help with dirt and wear, since we'll be storing diaper bags and shoes in here.

(4) Sawed the piece of wood into the right size for the top of the bench.

(5) Primed and painted the top of the bench and attached it to the cabinet.

(6) Found an old pillow in my storage area and cut out cardboard to fit the bottom. (I am not a sewer so this is my fix for the lack of that skill!) I then used the staple gun to attach my fabric to the bottom and put the whole thing on top of the bench. Done!