Mudroom/entryway bench

Mudroom/entry area

So this idea I've been pondering for a while now and collecting Pinterest ideas on finally started. My husband brought home a bunch of pallets and I had all the tools I needed.

Tool list:

Hammers

Pallets

Planer 

Chop saw

Table saw

Screw gun

Wood glue

Belt sander

Spray primer and paint of your choice

Tape measure

A willing and loving husband(not completely necessary but very nice) 

And some wonderful friends that like to help demolish pallets (that allow me to call them my minions)

First we drew up a rough draft. A plan of how big we needed our bench area with the space we had.this took a lot of discussion between The Hubs and I. He really helped me visualize the big picture with his sketches.

Second demolition. We used various sizes of pallets and configured the plan around what wood we had available. I had some great friends come over and we had a good stress relieving, workout, tearing these things apart! A little coffee added to the mix and it was a good day!

Next we went to Lowes and bought a piece of their exclusive Barn Side paneling for around $18. We LOVE this stuff! Very durable and super easy to work with. It's very rustic:)

I polled my Facebook friends to vote on a color they liked best because they are all so good at decorating and very crafty! Between a mustard yellow, turquoise or Green.  It in the end my frugality made the decision for me. I went with turquoise since I already had enough for the entire project from a previous project I did in my daughters room and it goes with my dining room chairs. This is deffinetly a statement piece! 

When we had collected all the wood, we started cutting the large top portion pieces, that make the mantle area which will hold the coat hooks and have a shelf for hats, gloves and scarfs. We cut our pieces long enough to make this 5ft long and around 6ft high.

Then we used the planer and made the wood smoother but we still wanted some rustic left to it. I did this part since it didn't require to much and I've done this before . Then I took them to the basement to start priming them , it's was below freezing in our garage and I knew the paint wouldn't do well there. I sprayed everything with black primer (rust-o-lium American accents ultra cover) this is only $3.77 at Walmart and apparently it covers twice the surface amount then a regular spray can.

This stuff dries really quick! And it only took 2 cans of primer for the whole project. I didn't sand it since we were going for the distressed antique look anyways and I didn't want to:) 

After I primed the large barn side panel I used a latex paint that I rolled a lightly coated roller brush. The color wasn't a perfect match to the spray paint that I had but it was close . (Forgotten secret by  Clark-Kensington ) I only used this color on the back paneling. The rest I used our spray paint.

Next we overviewed all our measurements and ideas for the bench. Adjusted as necessary and started cutting the frame out.  My husband ripped down on the table saw a 2x4 in half so I would be 2 pieces 1&1/2 x 1&1/2 square and he used that to support the bench.

We attached the strong sturdy pallet bottom pieces for the support legs to the bench.  Then we started to dry fit the rest of our pallet pieces and cut them to size.

   

Before we made things permanent, I took the top bench pieces and primed all 4sides of each piece. I did not stay paint them, just primed, that way all the cracks would be black not would colored.

 

 

Then we attached them along with the side pieces to the bench frame with the staple gun and wood glue.

I really did do more then just take pictures but I love that The Hubs was into this project just as much as I was!

 Then I primed the legs and skirting around the frame and attached all the pieces with a staple gun.

After we attached the top pieces to the frame we used a belt sander to flush them. Not completely perfect but enough so edges wouldn't catch on clothing.

I finished priming everything and started the spray painting process. I used Valspar outdoor turquoise color.

                                       Such bad lighting here but it does show those gloss well.

Not really sure why the pictures are so radically different in the shade of color but it looks more like the darker one.

Next assembly.

This is a 2 piece unit. The first step is attaching the bench to the wall in the studs. We had all the kids stand on it.( like we could stop them!! Haha) This helped us achieve the weight it needed to press the legs into the floor enough that when someone sat on the bench it wouldn't rock and pull it out of the wall.

The Hubs used 4 inch screws with the screw gun right into as many studs as he could through the underside frame of the bench.

Notice my old pallet board I used for coats before :/ big change!

Next we laid the barn side paneling on top on the bench against the wall, centered it and screwed it in place. Then laid our finished pallet wood pieces around that and framed it out. 

We cut some small triangles out and painted them to use as the supports for the shelf.

I put together the shelf (minor incident with a screw busting in half set me back a night) but it came together nicely, don't ya think!?!? 

And for the final reveal! 

I still have some white and burnt orange pieces to put on top of shelf. 

 

Hooks at Lowes were 2 in a package for $2.98. I needed 3.

I am also looking for some wine crates to put underneath for the shoe storage area.

I found this great printed burlap material for $6.99/yd. I needed 2 yards and I just folded it up on the bench in this picture, I still need to make the cushion.