Up next for my living room? We’re adding a little storage bench! My living room is really small, and we already don’t have a ton of seating. To be honest, we rarely host guests so we don’t really need much, but I just wanted something just in case.
I found this for inspiration, which is honestly really affordable, but it’s too big for the space, so I’m DIY’ing it!
This build is going to have a lot of similarities to the coffee table I just built, but will have enough differences so they’ll go together, but not be too matchy-matchy!
Building the DIY Storage Bench Structure
First up, we cut!
I’m using the same material I did for the coffee table and cutting it down to size using my circular saw and rip-cut.
Pocket Holes
I added pocket holes to the middle support piece, and to the underside of the top.
Sand + Bevel
I made a last-minute decision to route the edges to tie in with the coffee table. It’s all in the details 🥰
Assemble
First, I attached the bottom pieces to the sides using my favorite screws and wood glue. I also made sure to pre-drill so I could avoid any potential splitting!
Then, I added the middle piece which was attached with pocket screws. I used my laser measuring tool (highly recommend!) to make sure that it was perfectly in the middle, then used clamps to keep it where I wanted as I added the screws.
Then it was time for the top, but my drill wouldn’t fit with the pocket hole bit, so I had to use my flexible bit extender. It’s a pain to use, but it seriously comes in handy more times than I can count! I also used a dumbbell as a second pair of hands to hold the top in place since I needed both hands with the bit.
Cane Drawers
I built these the same way I build all my drawers, with the exception that I decided to build these inset! This means that everything has to be perfect (spoiler: it was slightly off, but it still worked!), and the drawer slide was inset by ¾”, instead of flush.
Cut 1x2s
For this, I started by measuring the width of the gap, then subtracted ¼” so that I have ⅛” gap on each side for clearance. Once those were cut, I measured for the height, again, subtracting ¼”.
Pocket Holes + Attach
I added pocket holes on the stiles, then attached them to essentially build a square.
Route
To give me somewhere for the cane to sit, I used my router to create a groove.
Cut and Add Backing
This is optional, but I decided to add a piece of scrap ¼” plywood as the backing. I just wanted something a bit more sturdier and to hide whatever goes in these drawers!
Attach!
This was my first time working with cane, so I wasn’t really sure what the best method was here! So, I tried this two ways. First I just stapled the cane directly to the plywood. Then, I wanted to try adding mod podge too, but that didn’t do anything, haha. So, I also just stapled around the edges of the backing!
Then, to attach this to the actual drawer front, I added glue around the edge of where I routed, and added staples around the edges! And, it worked!
Install the Drawer Front
I used playing cards around the edges to keep an even gap, then just added some nails from the front since the cane hides the nails.
I opened the drawers and finished by adding screws from the front.
Finishing Details
Staining
I used the same combo as my coffee table, although for some reason it did come out a little darker, but that’s ok! I also decided to do this before I added the cane since I didn’t think it would hold stain well and would make it messy if I waited.
Cushion
Again, I used the same method as my coffee table!
Feet + Hardware
I found these really affordable feet that matched the wood color almost perfectly. They were a little tricky to install since my largest bit was just slightly smaller than what I needed, but it worked out! Then I just added some hardware to the drawers. I wanted something a bit more inconspicuous, so these were perfect.
This was such a fun and simple build, which I’m really enjoying lately! What’s next in the living room? Well, first we’re going to re-purpose my media cabinet/fireplace!
