Solve Your Entry Dilemmas With an Easy Entryway Bench DIY

Why not contain the mess and make life easier with a simple project like an entryway bench, especially one that has storage, hooks, a coat rack, shoe storage, or other handy helpers?

There are all types of entryway benches out there, varying in style, size, and function. Some are merely just a bench for putting on or taking off shoes, or there to look stylish and fill a space. But as we all well know, many entryways are short on square footage and efficiency, even many times lacking a closet. So why not maximize the available space you’ve got by building an entryway bench? Plus, when you build one yourself, you can incorporate everything you need into it to solve as many problem areas as possible. Whether your entry is narrow, small, or spacious, there’s a design for you!

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The First Step to an Entryway Bench is the Most Important

There are a few steps involved when it comes to building an entryway bench, none of which are complicated at all. Your first order of business is analyzing your entryway as it will inform your final design; you’ll know exactly what is critical to have. Grab a notepad, a pencil, and a tape measure and take note of everything that goes in and out, everything that gets left or stored here.

Things to take note of:

• What issues are you looking to resolve?
• How often is the area used? Is it a constant flow of people and items or is it less so?
• Are shoes stored here? If so, how many and what types and sizes?
• Are coats hung here? If so, what types of coats, such as lightweight or heavy weight? Are there children’s coats, adult coats, or both?
• Are there other items stored here such as keys, purses, backpacks, laptop bags, dog leashes, umbrellas, hats, scarves, or gloves?
• Is mail left here temporarily before being sorted?
• Are groceries or other shopping bags left here? Is it a holding area for packages?
• Are there any other special needs the area has?
• How much space is available for a bench? Which way do doors swing and how much room is available around them?

It probably seems overwhelming to think of all the specifics that happen in this one particular area of your home, but doing so will help you to solve as many trouble spots as possible.

Designing the Entryway Bench

Have no fear, working out the plan for your new entryway bench is not a tricky task. Once you’ve studied the entryway, you can determine your needs, such as a coat rack, shoe storage, key hooks, a place for backpacks or leashes, a box for mail. From here, you can start planning the aspects of the bench.

Hometalk is a great resource for entryway bench ideas to get your creative juices going; you can find a zillion ideas for wooden entryway benches, ones with shoe storage, ideas for entryway benches with hooks or coat racks, freestanding or built-in benches, ideas for transforming a closet, or an entire foyer or mudroom; the list is practically endless.

Next, determine how much space is available for your new entryway bench. Is there a closet that can be adapted into a bench area or will it be freestanding near or attached to a wall? Be sure to measure the square footage and the heights of walls in your entry. Sketch out a quick floor plan and arrangement on a wall with dimensions so you can figure out the best size for the bench and everything around it.

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Here you can ask yourself, “Do I have something I can adapt or repurpose into a bench or will a piece of furniture that can be adapted or building supplies need to be purchased?”

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At this point, start figuring out the materials and supplies needed. If you’re building a wooden entryway bench, plan out what wood will be required, what type of wood, and if it will be painted or stained. As you’ve noted things like shoes and coats, you’ll be able to quickly figure out if a coat rack or hooks go on the shopping list or if you’ll need hinges for making a storage bench with doors for instance.

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Time to Build the Entryway Bench

After you’ve determined the function of your entryway bench and the materials needed, it’s time to assemble the bench. This is going to vary according to your design and the materials you’ve chosen so the techniques to do so are going to be different depending on what you’re up to. 

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Creating a bench can be as simple as connecting a few pieces, such as crates, and adding some legs with a bit of hardware and you’re done in an afternoon. Painting the bench in a vivid color adds some decorating punch, fun, and visual interest.

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Above, furniture legs (either purchased or repurposed) support a constructed wooden bench that crates for storage can slide under. Simple hooks on pieces of wood make it easy to hang coats, purses, and backpacks, while baskets attached to the wall are perfect for hats, gloves, scarves, and any other miscellaneous stray items.

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Sometimes an entryway bench is as easy as constructing a simple painted bench and then assembling found pieces as depicted above, using a ladder with crates and baskets plus chippy old signs with hooks for coats and keys. Shoes slip under the bench, removing former tripping hazards.

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Above is an in-progress photo of a larger project, revamping a laundry/mudroom into something much more functional that includes a bench and all sorts of organized storage.

The ideas for entryway benches are certainly ceaseless and limited only by your creativity. There are options for every budget and every style, for every size, space, and need.

As you can see, there are just as many solutions to an entryway bench as there are entryways. With a bit of planning and observing how the entry of your home functions, all the items that land or pass through there, it’s incredibly easy to reign in the daily chaos. 

Building an entryway bench can be as simple as a few crates connected together for seating, and shoe or other storage, to a simple wooden bench that fits in a narrow area, with or without storage. An entryway bench can be repurposing an existing piece of furniture like a table, a console, or found pieces you having laying around the house, to a headboard or an old crib. It can even be turning an underutilized old closet into a haven with a bench and coat storage, all the way to constructing something more built-in with cubbies, cabinets, doors, and storage, along with a place to sit.

Why not solve your entryway dilemmas today with a DIY entryway bench? Reign in the mess and guaranteed, daily life will be a bit simpler and easier.

Written for the Hometalk community by: Becky | Flipping the Flip