Building an Entryway (and a Bench!)

My entry way has been kind of bland since we moved in. It had the same cheap console table we bought from Target when we moved into our first house (pro tip: changing the handles on those makes them look so much nicer). And that was it. This wouldn’t be so bad, but the entryway of our current house has a completely different layout and feel.

I was fine with this for a while. After all, we moved in to the current house in November 2013. We’ve only been there a year and a half, and there are always a ton of projects to work on. Then Lowe’s started carrying an inexpensive Sputnik chandelier that actually took regular light bulbs. For those who don’t know, I LOVE fancy lighting. And a Sputnik chandelier had been something I had wanted badly for the house, but gave up on when I saw that most of them only accept fancy types of bulbs. these bulbs are usually expensive and aren’t efficient. When you have an 18-light fixture, you want those lights to consume as little power as possible. Now that LEDs were an option, I bought the fixture and 18 LED bulbs.

Once that new fixture was put in place though, I wanted the rest of the entry to be as fabulous as it’s light fixture. I gave the console table to a friend, and moved my card catalog to the entry. But that still left the room unbalanced. It was time to get a bench. I went to several stores, but couldn’t really find something I loved. Something that matched my style, was affordable, and had storage. I thought about doing an Ikea modification with a Kallax bookshelf but it would have been ridiculously long. Instead, I decided to build one I saw in Handmade Modern.

The project itself was pretty easy, and I was able to make it from a 4’x8’ sheet of maple plywood (plus I might have enough leftover for a nightstand, more on that in a later post). As I have in several other projects, I used nails and wood glue instead of screws. Another change I made was that I didn’t attach the top cushion at all. It’s heavy enough that it doesn’t shift, especially since it’s against the wall.

This was my first experience with veneer edging, which went much more smoothly than I had anticipated. It was also my first experience working with staple down style upholstery, which also went much more smoothly than I had expected. A while back, a friend had sent me this technique on Pinterest, and it worked beautifully. The only thing I don’t like about this project is the fabric itself. I bought it to match my living room curtains, but it’s too dark for the wood. It’ll work for now though.

Now, time to start working on a gallery wall to finish up that room….