DIY Bench With Shoe Storage

Build a simple yet modern A-frame DIY upholstered bench with shoe storage underneath with easy to follow plans and tutorial!

DIY upholstered bench with colorful fabric with text overlay

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Making your own bench is a great weekend project! It is also a great project to get your feet wet with woodworking if you are just starting out!

I built this bench for our entryway so we have a place to sit to put on or take off our shoes AND store them because, no one likes a big pile of shoes in front of the door!

In case you haven’t noticed, I am in love with the A-frame design and decided to make the bench based on it!

***This post is sponsored by Arrow Fastener. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help me bring you fun projects***

How Hard Is It to Build This Bench?

Not hard at all!

It is a basic project that needs a few cuts on the miter saw and pocket holes. If you opt for the upholstered top, you will need a do tackle a little bit of upholstery which is not hard at all!

Just follow the step by step instructions and the supporting video and you should have a gorgeous bench in the end!

Do You Need a Lot of Tools to Build This Bench?

Nope! Just a miter saw, power drill and a pocket hole jig to build the frame, a circular saw to cut the top plywood (which can be cut at a lumber store too) and a staple gun to upholster the top.

RELATED: How to make accurate cuts with a miter saw.

What Kind of Wood Do You Need?

This bench is made of all 2×2 boards for the frame and plywood for the upholstered top.

For the 2×2 boards – You could use furring strips but you need to be very careful when picking them – make sure they are straight which can be hard to find.

Finding straight boards is especially important when working with angles.

You can make your own 2×2 boards by ripping 2×4 boards on a table saw. I used Select Pine because they don’t have knots and are already sanded smooth. Although they can be expensive, it cuts down on a lot of time and stress.

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Material Needed

How to Build the Bench

Below is the full video showing how to build. Written step by step instructions follow.

Tutorial to Build the Bench

Step 1 – Make the Cuts

I used premium 2×2 boards because I was short on time and didn’t want to spend time ripping and sanding boards. But you can use 2×4 boards and rip them down to save money.

Tip – all the angles are cut at 10 degrees. Be sure to set the saw at 10-degrees and make all the angled cuts in one go so they are all consistent.

Step 2 – Make the Pocket Holes

The pocket hole jig and the drill bit is set at 1½” thickness.

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Step 3 – Build the Sides

Make sure that all the pocket holes face in the same direction.

Step 4 – Attach Rails and Aprons

Attach all the rails and top aprons to one of the sides using wood glue and pocket hole screws.
Flip that onto the other side and attach.
Add supports in the middle of the top aprons to complete building the bench frame.

As you build the frame, pay attention to the direction of the pocket holes. All the pocket holes for the slats will be towards the bottom and the holes in the top aprons will face upwards.

Step 5 – Finish the Bench

Sand, stain or paint the bench in the color of your choice.

I decided to stain my bench a rich walnut color.

Once the stain dries, apply a top coat to seal the bench. This is my favorite top coat.

Step 5 – Upholster Top

Tip – make sure foam is about ½” wider that the plywood on all sides. This will help cover the sharp edges.

Woman attaching batting using staple gun

I like to staple one end first and then stretch it out and staple the other end. Then turn in the corners and staple the remaining sides.

Cover in the fabric of your choice using a staple gun and staples using the same process as with the batting.

Woman attaching fabric to make the upholstered top of the shoe storage bench

I decided to use a rug for the top because I really wanted all the colors. It became a little bulky at the ends to staple in. I used 9/16″ staples in the heavy-duty T50 staple gun and stapled such that I was only stapling one layer at a time.

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Step 6 – Attach Top

Attach the upholstered top to the frame using wood screws from the bottom.

If you are using an upholstered top, use 2″ wood screws. If you are using a slatted top, use 2½” screws.

Attaching the upholstered top to the DIY bench frame

In my case, because the rug was bulky, I had to add a ¾” plywood scrap underneath to fill the gap and use 3″ screws.

That’s it!

DIY upholstered bench with colorful fabric in room

A simple yet stylish bench perfect for any entryway with a simple shelf underneath to store all the shoes.

It was a little harder to work with than fabric but the finished product makes it so worth it!

And the T50 heavy duty staple gun was a definite help!

close up of the fabric of the diy bench with shoe storage

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