This project can be made in a few hours out of furniture grade plywood, some wood dowels and some yarn. The sides of the bench are made from strips of plywood that are stacked and screwed together. This is an easy way to build because there are no right angles to connect. The dowels are wrapped with yarn and fitted into holes in the plywood.
There are many types of plywood with different laminations and surfaces. I used a single 4’by8’ sheet of ¾” furniture grade plywood with a sanded finish. I had it cut by the nice man at Home Depot into three 16 inch wide strips 8 feet long.
I used a waterproof wool and synthetic blend of yarn.
I used white glue to glue the yarn to the dowel and I used the wood glue to fasten the dowels into the sides of the bench.
I used 7 1 ¼” dowels. 1 ½” diameter dowels would provide more strength if your family and guests tend towards the husky side of things.
You can make the bench from a single sheet of plywood if you follow the cut pattern illustrated here. I recommend having the plywood cut into 3 pieces 16” inches wide at Home Depot. This means fewer cuts for you and also makes the plywood easier to transport.
The laser guide on my RYOBI circular saw made cutting straight easy! If your hands are less than steady, you can clamp a ruler to the plywood to use as a guide. If you want things to go a little faster, screw 2 boards together and cut 2 pieces at a time.
2 screws are enough for a smaller 2 ½” wide strips but 4 is needed for the squares. Just screw one layer at a time and slowly build up the layers.
When drilling the holes for the dowels, it is important to keep the drill as straight as possible. Clamp the boards together and drill the holes through multiple pieces at the same time; this way the holes will line up.
Sand the rough edges either by hand or with an orbital sander.
Brush a light coat of Elmer’s white glue on the dowels and wrap the yarn over itself to start it. Leave ¾” of an inch bare in order to fit the dowel into the holes. If you want to change colors simply cut the yarn and tie on a different color.
Squirt glue into the holes and stick the dowels in. Getting all the dowels in is easier with 2 people.
I used a 6 foot long wood dowel 1 ½” in diameter to make the hanging bar. I used ¼” aluminum and copper soft tubing to make the coat hooks.
Good luck making your own colorful mudroom, and please email or tweet photos to @benuyeda or ben@homemade-modern.com. For more detailed instructions, dimensioned drawings and different variations of the project, check out our soon-to-be-released book.