Extra Large Hope Chest/ Storage Bench Tutorial
*We have a cal. king bed so this bench is quite large. We searched all the furniture stores and everywhere online trying to find a storage bench to fit at the end of our bed, but they were all too short or didn’t have enough storage space!
Want to make one for the end of your bed?? Well here is a mini-tutorial to help you! I do not know the exact dimensions of the wood pieces, I would just recommend that you begin by measuring the end of your bed and decide how big you want your bench. Cut 4 long pieces for the top, bottom, and long sides. Then cut 3 pieces for the two ends and the inside. If you are making a small bench you won’t need the extra support in the middle (just omit the wood piece in the center).
Optional *After you cut all your pieces cover each piece of wood with vinyl(we got rolls of it at Home Depot, other stores sell different prints as well). Just cover the inside pieces. Then drill holes where the wood ends meet and put screws in the sides to secure them together (I think we had about 5 screws per section)
**Okay after lots of request I finally took measurements. (Remember I have a cal-king bed, you may need to make your bench width longer or shorter for your bed). We used 3/8″ thick plywood. The front, back, bottom and top pieces of wood are about 68-1/2 inches by 20-1/4 inches. The ends and center divider are about 19-1/2 inches wide by 20-1/4 inches tall(If your plywood is not 3/8″ you will need to adjust this measurement). Screw your sides to the ends and center divider together first(your ends and center will sit inside the 2 side parts), then lay your bottom on and screw it in place.
The middle.
*Attach the bottom by drilling holes and adding screws. We used 2 layers of thick 1 inch batting around the front/and sides(found at JoAnns on a big spool), staple to the wood at top and bottom edge…here it is all stapled. (pull tight)
*For the top piece (your bench cushion) you may want a little softer seat so add a layer of foam(also at JoAnn’s) below your 2 layers of batting.
*Lay your 2 pieces of batting (cut corners like the above picture to reduce bulk in the corners), foam and then your top board(vinyl side up).
*Staple around your top layer of batting just over the edge. (you are going to use a lot of staples for this project!!)
*Cover your base batting with your chosen Home Decor fabric (one that does not fray on the edges, ours is from JoAnn’s) just like you put the batting on, but wrap your fabric just over the top edge and staple to the top of the inside. Below is a picture of the back of the base, we just stapled a strip of fabric over the back top edge to make it look like it was covered…it is not though. Remember to pull fabric very tight along all the edges while stapling!!
*It should look like this….
Then attach your top using hinges (we found ours at home depot) we had to use shorter screws so they didn’t poke through the wood! The middle hinge locks into place for easy opening and closing.
And here it is…
*Finally a nice little place to store all that bulky stuff!!
*Just a note…This project took us a couple days to make (after shopping for all the items). Make sure you measure everything more than once!! Including your fabric before cutting! I think the entire project cost us about $75-$100, we used coupons for everything! Compared to the storage benches we saw online, this was a screamin’ deal!!! Love it!!
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Taya
Hi I'm Taya! A stay-at-home mother to 5 cuties. I love to craft, sew, blog and make fun things. I'm the creator of the 'Eat-Pray-Create' blog and I'm so glad you're here!
10 Comments
Megan
You guys are amazing. Seriously.
Noelle
This is exactly what I was trying to find to buy, but couldn’t. I am excited to have my husband and son make it! Thanks so much!!
Debbie
I’m thrilled I found your tutorial! It’s exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for the great idea! http://www.okmodernhome.com/
Foam-By-Mail
Great tip for the corner-cut on the poylester fiberfill! Fiberfill gives that fluffy, tufted look, but you’re dead-on that corners can get “bunchy” – this takes care of that with ease!
Kristina
I love it and I’m so doing this. I really wish you explained the measurements more . Like wht size bed is that I want to make one for a king sized bed . Is that study enough to sit on ? If not how could you make it really strong ( I have kids ) . Awesome you guys just brilliant ! .
Taya
Thanks Kristina! We love it too. Sorry I didn’t take better measurements at the time. I can tell you that our bed is a Cal-King. And it is sturdy enough to sit on (that is why we put the extra piece of wood in the center). We have kids too and they have walked and climbed on it with no problems. I wouldn’t suggest jumping on it or putting anything too heavy on it, it could potentially start to sag. For the size I would recommend measuring your bed and make it a little shorter than that for the width. I will try to get some measurements of it soon and add to the post! Thanks again.
Taya
I added the measurements to the post, I hope that helps. Please let me know if you end up making one, I would love to see pictures!!
Lisa Bird
Taya,
Awesome job, I ALSO would love these measurements of would. I have a king as well. Would love to take the measurements to home depot have them cut these boards. Single 🙁 . I’ve looked and looked also for something like this to sit on while putting on shoes etc, have bad knee and back , and would prefer to not have to walk in to the living room to undress and then bring back in bedroom.
Also, I need a head board…. like yours , does it match the chest? My room actually looks just like yours and wanted to have a chest/trunk that pulled in colors of the headboard or vs, vr. thank you. Lisa
Taya
Okay I took measurements. (Remember I have a cal-king bed, you may need to make your bench width longer or shorter for your bed). We used 3/8″ thick plywood. The front, back, bottom and top pieces of wood are about 68-1/2 inches by 20-1/4 inches. The ends and center divider are about 19-1/2 inches wide by 20-1/4 inches tall(If your plywood is not 3/8″ you will need to adjust this measurement). Screw your sides to the ends and center divider together first(your ends and center will sit inside the 2 side parts), then lay your bottom on and screw it in place. Then continue with the tutorial. I hope this helps!!
Taya
Oh and I will be adding the headboard info to my blog soon, so stay tuned!! Yes we made that too!