Skip to Content

Kitchen Bench with Storage

Sharing is caring!

We have such a small kitchen and the way the table fits is kind of weird. So we decided to build a kitchen bench with storage. We need loads and loads of storage, because we don’t have a pantry.

DIY Kitchen Bench with storage

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase items through my links I may earn a commission. You can find our full policy here. Thank you.

Since we don’t have a pantry, we decided to build this kitchen bench with storage to double as a pantry. The bench also gives us extra seating in our small dining room.

Kitchen with dining table and black colored dog. Window in back. White kitchen bench.

Since we rent the house, the kitchen bench had to be removable. We researched many kitchen benches, but most of them were all built ins.

We want to be able to take the kitchen benches with us if we move and the owners did not want benches installed in the kitchen. So we altered some of the plans that we found to make these removable.

Kitchen Bench with Storage

We took inspiration from Nesting with Grace built-in kitchen banquette and altered it to fit our needs. We started off by measuring the space to see how big we wanted our benches to be.

Our benches are 6 feet long and 4 feet long. So that when they butt up to one another their each 6′. The longer bench is actually 64 inches long, John cut two inches short, but its fine!

After measuring the chairs we already had and knowing I wanted to use 2 inch foam for the cushions, I decided with 16 inches as the height for the benches. The width is 18″ to allow room for pillows in the back.

We didn’t want to cover up the beaded paneling that is already on the wall. So, we chose not to do a backing on the bench itself and instead I made pillows.

Building the Frame

John started out by building the frame. He used 2x4s to build the frame. For the 6′ bench: 4 – 6′ pieces, 6 – 15″ pieces, 12 – 9″ pieces.

wood for kitchen bench with storage

The 15″ pieces are braces for the top and bottom edges. The 9″ pieces are braces for the sides. You’ll need to add pocket holes to both sides of all the 15″ pieces and 9″ pieces.

Wood for kitchen bench

Start by making the frame. Attach 2 – 6′ pieces to 2 – 15″ pieces with pocket hole screws to make a rectangle. Then make a second that is exactly the same.

Wood for kitchen bench

Lay the two rectangles on their sides and put in the 9″ pieces to attach the two rectangles together. Lastly add in the 15″ pieces in the top rectangle, evenly spaced, for added support.

Now you can make the smaller frame. To do that you’ll need 4 – 4′ pieces, 6 – 15″ pieces, and 10 – 9″ pieces. Build it the same way that you built the other frame.

Wood for kitchen bench

Finishing the Bench

After the frame is built, you can add the 1/4″ sanded plywood to the front with a hammer and nails or a staple gun. We used a router to ensure that the sanded plywood was flush with the frame.

We only added the sanded plywood to two sides and left the back and the side against the wall open. Add a hinge to the top of the benches. To do this, cut a piece of 1/4″ sanded plywood to fit the top of your bench.

Mine for the long bench was 6′ long by 18″ wide. Then cut 2″ off the long side of the plywood. This left us with one 6’x2″ piece and one 6’x16″ piece. Attach the 6’x2″ piece of plywood to the back of your bench with nails.

Use utility hinges to attach the 2 plywood pieces together. I used two utility hinges on each bench. If you’re going to make a cushion like I did, you can use 1/4″ for the top, if you’re going to buy a cushion use 1/2″.

Kitchen bench with storage utility hinges
Yield: 1

Kitchen Bench with Storage

Kitchen Bench with Storage

How to make a removable kitchen corner bench with a hinged top for lots of storage!

Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours
Difficulty Easy

Instructions

  1. Cut your 2x4's to these lengths: For the 6' bench: 4 - 6' pieces, 6 - 15" pieces, 12 - 9" pieces. For the 4' bench: 4 - 4' pieces, 6 - 15" pieces, and 10 - 9" pieces.
  2. Add pocket holes to both sides of all the 15" pieces and 9" pieces.
  3. Then make the top of the frame for the 6' bench. Attach 2 - 6' pieces to 2 - 15" pieces with pocket hole screws to make a rectangle. Do this again to make the bottom of the frame.
  4. Lay the two rectangles on their sides and use pocket hole screws to attach the 9" pieces in even intervals to attach the top and bottom frames together.
  5. Lastly add in the 15" pieces in the top rectangle, evenly spaced, for added support.
  6. Now you can make the smaller 4' bench frame. Make it the same way. Attach 2 - 4' pieces to 2 - 15" pieces with pocket hole screws to make a rectangle. Do this again to make the bottom of the frame.
  7. Lay the two rectangles on their sides and use pocket hole screws to attach the 9" pieces in even intervals to attach the top and bottom frames together.
  8. Lastly add in the 15" pieces in the top rectangle, evenly spaced, for added support.
  9. Add on the 1/4" sanded plywood to the front side and the side that will be exposed with a hammer and nails or nail gun.
  10. Side pieces will be 18" by 16"- you need two one for each bench, and the front pieces will be 4' by 16" and 6' by 16".
  11. We used a router after to ensure the sanded plywood was flush with the frame.
  12. For the top piece, we added a hinge. To do this you'll first need to cut the top pieces to the right size, one 4' by 18" and one 6' by 18".
  13. Then cut 2" off the long side of the plywood. This left us with one 6'x2" piece and one 6'x16" piece for the 6' bench and one 4'x2" and one 4'x16" for the 4' bench.. Attach the 2" piece of plywood to the back of your bench with nails.
  14. Use utility hinges to attach the 2 plywood pieces together.

I also have a tutorial on how to make a removable bench seat cover and how to make chair covers!

Correna

Saturday 10th of April 2021

I live in a tiny townhouse that I rent that also has no pantry and no storage in the kitchen. I have been struggling with how to solve my storage problems (my mother has even been trying to figure it out) when I stumbled across this God send. This may be just the answer I have been looking for! Thank you!

Skip to Instructions