storage bench finished project


Looking for a practical and stylish way to add storage to your home? This DIY storage bench is the perfect solution! With a hinged lid and a sturdy design, it doubles as both a storage space and a handy low countertop. Whether you need a spot to keep laundry baskets near the washer, stash winter gear in the mudroom, or create a convenient seat for putting on shoes, this bench has you covered

You won’t need special hard-to-find wood to build this storage bench. We used 3/4"-thick stain grade pine panels in 16” and 24” widths for the box and lid components. You can find these panels at many home centers in the lumber and paneling sections of the store. For the 1-1/2” x 1-1/2” bench legs and leg top pieces, one economical option is to buy a 2x6 or 2x8 that’s free of knots, cracks or other large defects. Southern yellow pine, designated with the abbreviation SYP on the lumber tag stapled to the end of the board, makes fine leg material. Choose the straightest, flattest and most dry board you can find.



Download the DIY Storage Bench Plan

diy storage bench plan download


beadlock joinery used to assemble the bench

The leg assemblies are constructed with 3/8” Rockler Beadlock floating tenons and are connected to the storage box with Beadlock floating joinery. The mortises for these tenons are easy to form with the Rockler Beadlock Pro Jig. If you’re unfamiliar with the Beadlock system, it’s simply a drilling jig that clamps to the workpiece and lets you drill a series of partially overlapping holes to create a mortise. The jig has a movable steel block to guide the drill bit. Shifting this block from “A” to “B” positions and drilling all the holes at each position forms the mortise shape. Easy! Rockler sells Beadlock tenon stock in three sizes—1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2”—to fit these mortises. Beadlock floating tenon joints are rock-solid and much easier to make than many other alternative joints.


installing a torsion support hinge

The storage box lid is hinged and supported by Lid-Stay Torsion Hinge Lid Supports. Similar to hinges in laptop computers, these heavy-duty cast-zinc hinges allow virtually any size lid to open smoothly, hold its position (when opened to 90 degrees, beyond that the lid will swing open), and then easily close. They’re particularly sensible choices if you have small children, because the open lid can’t accidently slam closed on little fingers. The weight of the lid will determine which of the Torsion Hinge Lid Support options you need and how many will be required. Rockler has a helpful Torsion Calculator to make selecting the correct hinges simple.



completed diy storage bench set up in a house


This project was designed and built by Chelsea and Logan from Making Manzanitas. You can find more of their work at: www.makingmanzanita.com.