A storage bench earns its keep in a hallway. Boots go in, bags stop landing on the floor, and there is somewhere to sit while you pull on wellies. This version is built from 18mm pine board and a few lengths of 44mm square timber, uses screws and glue rather than fancy joinery, and comes together in a day once the boards are cut to size. The finished bench is 1000mm wide, 400mm deep and 450mm high — a comfortable seat height for most adults and a neat fit along a hallway wall.
Tools and materials
Decide first whether you want the timber cut for you. Most timber merchants and larger DIY sheds will machine sheet material to a cutting list for a small charge, and the accuracy is worth more than the saving you make by wrestling a full sheet onto trestles. If you are cutting it yourself, a fine-tooth handsaw and a straight edge will do, but take your time over the marks.
What you will need
- Tape measure, pencil and a combination square
- Cordless drill with 3mm, 8mm and countersink bits
- Wood screws: 4mm x 40mm, 4mm x 50mm, and 4mm x 60mm
- Wood glue, a damp cloth and two or three clamps
- Sandpaper in 120 and 180 grit, plus a sanding block
- An offcut of 2mm card or a few playing cards for hinge spacing
Materials
- 18mm pine furniture board or glued pine panel (see the cutting list)
- 44mm x 44mm pine for the legs
- A piano hinge, roughly 900mm long
- A soft-close lid stay or folding stay
- A small handle, finger pull or a 60mm hole cut for a grab opening
The cutting list
- 2 side panels: 400mm x 350mm x 18mm
- 4 rails (two top, two bottom): 964mm x 70mm x 18mm
- 1 base panel: 964mm x 400mm x 18mm
- 1 seat: 1000mm x 400mm x 18mm
- 4 legs: 44mm x 44mm x 100mm
That gives you a box 1000mm wide, 400mm deep and 350mm tall, sitting on 100mm legs for a total height of 450mm. Inside there is roughly 330mm of clear height and about 950mm across — enough for four or five pairs of boots, or a couple of folded blankets and a basket. Rails are kept to 70mm deep so they add stiffness without swallowing the opening. If you need more room inside, take the box to 400mm tall and accept a slightly taller perch.
Building the carcass
- Sand before you assemble. Work through 120 grit then 180 on every face that will end up inside the box. Flat panels are far easier to sand than a finished carcass.
- Drill pilot holes. Pine splits easily near the ends of a board. Use a 3mm bit for your 4mm screws and countersink every hole so the heads sit just below the surface.
- Fix the bottom rails. Run a bead of glue along the ends of the rails and clamp them between the two side panels, flush with the bottom edge. Screw through the outside face of each side panel into the rail ends — two screws per joint, offset slightly so they cannot collide.
- Drop in the base. Set the base panel onto the bottom rails and screw down through it into the rails, spacing screws about 150mm apart and keeping them 50mm clear of the ends.
- Add the top rails. Glue and screw them in the same way, this time flush with the top edge of the sides. These carry the lid.
- Check for square by measuring both diagonals of the opening. They should match within about 2mm. If they do not, slacken the clamps, nudge the box and re-tighten before the glue sets.
- Fit the legs. Position one at each corner, inset about 20mm from both edges, and fix with 60mm screws driven up through the base into the leg ends. Glue the joints as well; the legs take the whole weight of the bench and its contents.
Fitting the seat and the hardware
A piano hinge is more forgiving than two butt hinges here, because it supports the lid along its full width and stops it racking when it is opened one-handed. Cut it to about 900mm so it sits comfortably inside the seat edges.
Lay the lid upside down on a padded surface, set the hinge in place and mark the screw holes with a bradawl. Drill 2mm pilot holes and use 12mm screws — anything longer risks breaking through the face of 18mm board. Then stand the box on its feet, lay the lid on top with a 2mm strip of card between the front edge of the lid and the front of the box, and screw the hinge to the top rails through the same method.
Finally, fit a stay. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that matters. A lid without a stay slams shut on fingers, and a storage bench in a hallway is exactly the sort of thing children open and close. A friction stay or soft-close hinge costs very little and holds the lid open while you load it. If you will be storing damp boots, drill three or four 25mm ventilation holes in one side panel near the base.
Finishing and small details
Fill any knot holes with a matching wood filler, then sand the whole bench to 180 grit and ease the sharp arises on the seat edge with a few strokes of paper — you will feel the difference every time you sit down. If you plan to paint, brush a coat of knotting solution over the knots first, or they will bleed through within a few months. A water-based eggshell in a pale colour suits pine well, while a couple of coats of Danish oil or a hard wax oil keeps the grain visible and is easy to touch up.
Screw a small handle or shallow finger pull to the front of the lid so it lifts cleanly without pinching fingertips. Felt pads under the legs protect wooden floors and let you slide the bench into position before it is full.
Where to put it, and what to watch for
Measure the wall before you commit. Skirting boards usually stand 15mm to 20mm proud of the plaster, so either notch the back legs or fit a 20mm spacer rail behind the bench so it sits flat rather than tipping forward. If you are building for a narrow hall, shaving 100mm off the width is fine; just recalculate the rail lengths, which are always the overall width minus 36mm.
Build the box square and the rest follows easily. Load it only once it is in position — a full storage bench is surprisingly heavy and awkward to shift — and give the hinge screws a quick check with a screwdriver every few months. Do that, and this is a piece of furniture that will outlast the boots you put in it.
Photo: Pew Nguyen / Pexels
