How to Make a Coat Locker With a Bench

Wooden furniture can provide the foundation for a new woodworking project.

Recycling furniture and building fixtures allows you to find new uses for quality materials. For example, repurpose a wooden bench into a coat locker to complement your entry. A Holbrook bench that is 18 inches tall, 60 inches wide and 18 inches deep provides ample space to hang coats. A bench with the legs and frame flush with the bench seat avoids wasted space in and around your completed coat locker.

Things You'll Need

• Bench
• Tape measure
• Table saw
• Plywood
• 2-by-4 stud
• Dowel rod
• Sandpaper
• Stain
• Paintbrush
• Drill
• Countersink
• Screws
• Hinges
• Shelf closet rod bracket

Instructions

1. Cut three 60-inch-by-18-inch side walls out of 1/2-inch plywood with a table saw. These panels will form the two side walls and door of your locker. Cut two 18-inch-square plywood sections to form the top and the bottom panels of the locker. Cut two 54-inch-by-2-inch-by-2-inch frame pieces and two 16-inch-by-2-inch-by-2-inch frame pieces to add a frame to the front of the locker. Cut a 17.25-inch-long piece of 1-inch dowel rod for the hanger rod. Cut a 17-inch-by-8-inch piece of 1/4-inch plywood for a closet shelf above the hanger rod. Sand the edges of the pieces with medium-grit sandpaper.

2. Stain the pieces to match the bench. Allow the stain to dry before assembling the locker. Add a second coat of stain if required to match the bench.

3. Turn the bench on its side and insert one of the 54-inch frame pieces between the two 2-inch-by-2-inch legs, squaring the new frame piece with the legs. Pre-drill the hole for a #14 screw through the top of the leg into the center of the frame piece. Screw in the #14 wood screw. Repeat on the other end of the frame piece. Flip the bench to the opposite side and add the second long frame piece. Use a similar process to set the two 16-inch frame sections between the legs to create the top and bottom front frame sections. You now have framing to hang the locker walls.

4. Lay one wall panel across the open side of the bench, squaring it with the frame. Screw the wall into place at the four corners using 1/4-inch-diameter, 1-inch-long wood screws placed 1/2 inch from the panel edge. Employ additional wood screws to secure the side panel to the front and back frame approximately 12 inches apart. Center an additional screw 1/2 below the top of the panel to secure the top edge. Repeat the process with bottom edge. Flip the bench to the opposite side and repeat with the other wall panel.

5. Align one of the 18-inch-square panels flush with the framing at the top of the locker. Screw the panel into the frame at the four corners and add one additional screw to the center of each of the four sides. Repeat the process to install the locker bottom.

6. Install the frame wing side of a hinge into the left edge of the frame approximately 1 foot from the top, aligning the knuckles with the outside edge of the side wall. Repeat the process with a hinge 1 foot from the bottom of the locker and a third hinge located at the midpoint of the wall. Align the door with the frame and screw the three hinge door wings into the door. Attach a handle to the right side of the door 1 inch from the door edge and approximately 40 inches from the bottom of the locker.

7. Screw the shelf closet rod bracket into the back of the locker approximately 10 inches below the top of the locker and 2 inches from the side walls. Set the hanger rod in the bracket. Screw the shelf in the screw holes in the top of the shelf closet rod bracket.