Foyer Bench

SO.... I found this plywood shortly after buying our new home stacked up on the side of the garage. The home came with a huge foyer so I had to build an even larger foyer piece. It just so happens that my wife loves baskets for her shoes. knowing this I formulated a plan of action, "Why not built a bench for baskets!". And so I did. The following is the result.

I started building the base with this old plywood and a few 2X4's and built a solid base 2 ft wide.

I measured (poorly). A few cuts later a frame emerged and my plan began to form. 3 in. common (I think?) were used in the construction of the framing.

I began to cut the pallet panels to length and with a little glue and finishing nails, bench took shape.

I remember this step being very quite difficult. After cutting to about 6 ft long I began to glue and clamp. The boards, due to their length kept slipping out of the clamps. Eventually I got them to lay straight enough to sand and screw in three cross braces for better stability. This top ended up being very heavy.

The top is sanded and a few coats of poly have been applied.

This is the project finished. I used white paint for the panels and a nice Watco brand cherry stain for the top. I left the panels un-sanded for a rustic beach look. We live in Florida so by law every family must devote at least one room to a beach theme. The foyer will reflect the beach to appease the state. I found that early on in the project I missed measured by a fraction of an inch. The end result is a foyer bench that is really wide. You could use this piece as a day bed if need be. It does however, still looks proportional to the room. So if you come to visit you'll be sleeping in the foyer, sorry. Enjoy!!