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" At several spots in our home, I&amp;#039;ve thought aloud, &amp;quot;Boy, wouldn&amp;#039;t it be great to have a seat right here?&amp;quot; And, just as often, &amp;quot;Boy, wouldn&amp;#039;t it be great to have a storage space right here?&amp;quot; Besides the troubling realization that I&amp;#039;m always talking to myself, it became clear that our home needed a convenient spot to sit to remove shoes, and more places to keep things like hats and gloves. To alleviate both problems, I built this simple wooden bench, which features a hinged top above a surprisingly spacious storage compartment. The 14 x 36\u2013inch seat is plenty wide enough to accommodate two adults. I painted the clear pine bench and fastened its top to the rear apron with a 30-inch-long continuous hinge. A feature that&amp;#039;s especially important if you have children around is the spring-loaded lid support, which prevents the top from slamming onto fingers.    2 1x6 pine, 34 inches long. Cut with curved edge to make two aprons 2 1x12 pine, 17 1/2 inches long. Cut with 3 3/4-inch radius for two legs 1 Sheet 1/4-inch plywood, cut to 11 1/4 x 24 1/2 inches. Use as the bottom of the bench  1 3/4-inch pine shelving plank, 8cut to 14 x 36 inches. Cut to make the seat at the top of the bench  12 1 5/8-inch drywall screws. Attach legs to front and rear aprons 12 3/8-inch-diameter dowel plugs. Use as plugs to cover countersunk screw heads 1 30-inch-long, 1 5/8-inch-wide continuous hinge. Attach bench top to rear box wall 1 Toy-box lid support. Holds bench top up when opened to access storage   Step 1: Cut Aprons  Cut two 34-inch-long aprons from 1 x 6 pine. Make a cardboard template of a curve, then trace the shape onto each end of both 1 x 6 aprons. Step 2: Sand and Rout  Use a saber saw fitted with a fine-tooth blade to cut the curved shape. Sand the cut ends smooth. Rout a 1/4-inch-wide by 3/8-inch-deep stopped groove into the inside of each apron, 1/2 inch up from the bottom edge. The grooves will hold the plywood bottom of the storage box.  Step 3: Rip Two 10-1/2 in. Pine Legs  Next, rip two 10 1/2-inch-wide legs from a pine 1 x 12. Adjust the table-saw blade to 15 degrees and crosscut the legs to 17 1/2 inches. Lower the blade for a 3/8-inch-deep cut. Pass the leg over the angled saw blade to cut a dado into its inside surface to accept the plywood bottom. Make two or three passes, moving the fence each time, to create a 1/4-inch dado. Step 4: Create an Arch  Use a compass to mark a 3 3/4-inch radius onto the bottom end of each leg. Adjust the saber-saw shoe for a 15-degree bevel cut. Saw along the curved line to create an arch in each leg. Hand-sand the cuts with 80-grit sandpaper.  Step 5: Fasten The Aprons  Fasten the front and rear aprons to one of the legs with six 1 5/8-inch drywall screws driven through 3/8-inch counterbored holes. Insert the 1/4-inch plywood bottom into the grooves, and use six more screws to install the remaining leg. Glue plugs cut from 3/8-inch dowels into the holes, sand them flush, then putty over them before priming and painting.  Step 6: Cut the Bench Seat  Cut the bench seat to 14 x 36 inches, and attach it to the rear apron with a 30-inch-long hinge. Center the hinge on the apron, make starter holes with an awl, and fasten the hinge. To keep the bench top from slamming shut, add a lid support about 21/2 inches from the right leg. Fasten it to both the bench top and the rear apron. To give the bench an aged appearance, use a rasp or sanding block to rub through the paint along the lower edges of the legs&amp;#039; corners. Apply wood stain to darken the exposed wood edges, and wipe away the excess with a clean cloth. Step 7: Bench Dressing Ideas  Give the bench some style and visual interest with one of these ideas. Stenciling: Use stencils to paint a geometric design on the bench top, aprons and legs. Wallpaper: Soak the paper in water, wait a few minutes for the adhesive to activate, then apply wallpaper to the bench top. Trim the paper flush with the edges, and apply a coat of polyurethane varnish. Picture Perfect: Glue a poster or print to the bench using contact cement. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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