How to Build Kitchen Storage Benches
Kitchen storage benches are beneficial in many ways, providing both a seating surface and additional kitchen storage. Whether you have a cramped kitchen and getting around your kitchen table is always a chore, or if your kitchen is overrun with cookbooks and appliances you rarely use, a kitchen storage bench will help solve some of your problems and take less than a week to complete.
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Things You'll Need
- 2-inch-by-4-inch lumber
- OSB board
- Wood panel board
- Miter saw
- Tape measure
- 4-inch wood screws
- Power screwdriver
- Hammer
- Finishing nails
- Wood putty
- Sandpaper
- Wood stain or paint
- Paintbrush
- 3 hinge fixtures
Instructions
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1
Measure, then cut, the panel board into two pieces measuring 2 feet by 16 inches and 16 inches by 6 feet, two pieces measuring 16 inches by 6 feet and one piece measuring 2 feet by 6 feet. The OSB board must be cut into one piece that measures 2 feet by 6 feet, and from the 2-by-4 board you will need four pieces 6 feet long and 16 pieces measuring 16 inches long.
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2
Construct the interior frame of the storage bench. Begin with two 6-feet pieces laid on the ground parallel to one another. Slide two of the 16-inch pieces perpendicularly between the ends of the two 6-feet pieces to create a rectangular form. Place two more 16-inch pieces between the other 16-inch pieces, with all pieces approximately 2 feet apart.
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3
Drive the 4-inch-long screws in at an angle with the power screwdriver. Remember to lay all wood pieces in this step on the floor so that the 4-inch sides are against the floor and facing up, not facing the sides. Repeat this step and the previous step for the remaining 6-feet pieces and four more 16-inch pieces.
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4
Attach the eight remaining 16-inch-long pieces between the two pieces you constructed in the previous two steps. Drive screws through the long 6-feet pieces and into the 16-inch pieces where the 6-feet pieces intersect with the already attached 16-inch pieces. This will give you a rectangular frame for your bench.
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5
Cover the outsides of the bench with the panel board. The 2-feet-wide by 6-feet-long piece will go along the bottom, and the top should be left open. Use the finishing nails to attach the panel board to the frame; the panel pieces should completely cover the frame.
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6
Countersink all screws and finishing nails and cover the holes with wood putty. Sand the putty smooth as well as all other rough surfaces, including the OSB board, and then paint or stain the exposed panel pieces and the remaining OSB board. Allow the paint or stain to dry overnight.
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7
Sit the OSB board on the top, open surface of the kitchen storage bench. Attach the hinge fixtures to the top back of the OSB piece and to the back of the storage bench. Sit all three hinges an equal distance apart and with the middle hinge in the middle of the bench.
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Tips & Warnings
Apply trim pieces at the edges, to cover gaps and ends of panel board pieces.
These instructions will give you a finished bench measuring approximately 16 inches tall, 6 feet long and 2 feet deep. To make this bench for a shorter table, cut down the length of the bench by making all 6-feet-long cuts smaller.
