How to Build A Mudroom Bench By Amanda!

 I'm so excited to introduce my friend Amanda from AnOrganizedFamily. Today she is sharing how she and her handyman hubby built this amazing storage mudroom space! Her step by step mudroom tutorial is so informative and clear- you'll love it! Her blog is also filled with lots of great organizational tips and tricks to help in everyday life! Go check it out- you'll be so glad you did!

Click the "Read more" link  below for all the awesome details!

I am honored that Nissa-Lynn asked me to contribute to her blog some of my DIY projects.  I have a really hand husband, named Kevin, and he makes what I have in my head come to life.  Together we are a great team.  One of my favorite projects to date is our Mudroom Bench.

Last year, Kevin and I built a new home.  As much as we would have liked to have built a custom home, that just wasn’t in the budget.  So, we built a home with a builder that was structurally what we wanted, but we would do most of the customization and upgrades ourselves.  I’ve always dreamed of a mudroom and this home had the perfect spot for a great bench.  We priced it with the builder and it would have been $1600 for their version (one that wasn’t near as nice or pretty).  Our version ended up costing about $300 in materials and took about 8 hours to build, and then a few more to prime and paint.  But it is gorgeous and was most definitely worth the effort!

Before we had our bench, we had an Ikea Shoe Cabinet and Coat Rack in its place, which actually worked pretty well.  Except for the fact that we have 7 people in our family and the coat rack didn’t even come close to holding that many coats.  Not to mention all of our purses, bags, and winter gear.  On New Years Eve day Kevin said “Hey, let’s build the mudroom bench tomorrow!” and I’ve learned that when he’s ready, we do it! So off to Home Depot we went to buy our materials.  Then we began the project the next day.

We first emptied the space.  We actually moved the shoe cabinet by the front door and the coat rack in the office (also by the front door). 

Kevin used a crowbar and hammer to remove the trim around the floor.  Then I cleaned the floors and walls to prepare the space for the construction.

Kevin put down some liquid nails before putting in place the bench we had built on in the shop.

 The bench was built with ¾” fiberboard and MDF trim.

 We then added side panels and the top shelf.

We added support by putting moulding under the top shelf and then added molding on the back and sides for another shelf. We then added trim to the outside of the shelves, sides, and bench as well as adding the large board (for the hooks and trim above the bench seat.  The seat is a piece of pine we stained before putting it in place. It actually wasn't as dark as I wanted it to be, so we added a few more coats later. 

We then added a piece of trim at the top to make it look like a piece of furniture and also added more vertical trim pieces to add character. We then puttied all of the nail holes and caulked the entire thing

The next day, I primed the entire thing and then the day after that painted it.  A few more coats of stain were put on the bench and then a couple of coats of polyurethane to add shine and protect it.

We then added a piece of trim at the top to make it look like a piece of furniture and also added more vertical trim pieces to add character.  We then puttied all of the nail holes and caulked the entire thing. Then Kevin added 9 hooks evenly spaced. 

I then went on the hunt for baskets and bins to hold shoes and all of our winter gear.  I shopped at HomeGoods, Marshall’s, Ross, and Gordman’s.  After coming home with probably 30 different options, I finally settled on the ones we have.  At first I thought I wanted it matchy-matchy, but from a design perspective, baskets that have a similar style but different patterns and colors definitely added more interest.  I added chalkboard tags with our initials on them on the top baskets so everyone would know which one was theirs.  Right now, some extra gear and beach towels are being stored up top.  I hope to eventually put some cabinet doors up there to hide it, or find more cute coordinating bins. 

If you want to see more in-depth about how we built the bench or other projects we’ve done, visit my blog. AnOrganizedFamily.com

What I Love About This

She is so organized and lists every detail!
 It' so easy to follow her instructions and make this! 
Plus, she takes the guess work out of figuring measurements! 
I learn so much many tips and tricks from her blog too!

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My name is Amanda and I have a passion for organizing. When I am not busy running around with my 5 children, I love projects with my handy husband, decorating, fashion, reading, music, and food.  With a large family, we always have something going on, so Iam constantly on the lookout of how we can make our lives organized and simpler.