How to Build a DIY Upholstered Storage Bench (Beginner-Friendly!)

Learn how to build a DIY upholstered storage bench with this beginner-friendly tutorial. With hidden storage and an upholstered seat, it is perfect for an entryway, bedroom, or extra seating.

Can you ever have too much storage? I don’t think so! That’s why I built this DIY upholstered storage bench, and I am so excited about how it turned out.

I wanted something that looked great but also had a hidden storage compartment because, let’s be honest, we all have stuff that needs a place to go.

When I found the perfect fabric for the seat, I knew this project was going to be a favorite. It added just the right touch of plush and made the whole bench feel extra special.

The best part? This build is totally beginner-friendly!

It is made with 2x2s and plywood, and everything comes together with pocket holes, so no tricky joinery to figure out.

This bench is perfect for an entryway, bedroom, or even at the foot of your bed (which is where mine is going)!

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How to Build

As always, I have a detailed video showing you how to build the bench. The detailed step-by-step tutorial is below.

Step 1: Build the Top

Since I was going to be upholstering the top, I started with that first. This helped me account for any added thickness from the upholstery when building the bench frame.

• Cut the plywood for the top using a circular saw or table saw.
• Apply 1″ foam to the plywood using spray adhesive. I like to have about an inch of overhang on all sides so that when the batting is attached, the foam wraps around the edge of the plywood and softens the sharp edges.
• Wrap the foam in batting and fabric, securing everything with a staple gun.

• For a finished look, I added black fabric to the underside of the top.

Important: Once the upholstered top was ready, I measured it carefully to adjust my bench dimensions if needed. In my case, the upholstery added ¾” to the width and about 1” to the length. I needed to add this AND 1/8″ on both ends to comfortably move the top.

Step 2: Make the Cuts

• Cut all the wood pieces for the bench according to the plans.

I used a table saw to cut the plywood panels, but you can also use a circular saw with a rip-cut guide if that’s what you have.

• Use a miter saw to cut the 2x2s, 1x2s, and narrow plywood boards to length.

Step 3: Drill Pocket Holes

With all the pieces cut, it is time to add pocket holes.

• Review the plans and make pocket holes shown in the diagrams.

I used the Kreg 720, but you can use any pocket hole jig.

Note that there are two sizes of pocket holes that need to be drilled, and hence, the setting on the pocket hole jig and the drill bit collar will need to be adjusted accordingly – ¾” setting for plywood and 1 ½” setting for 2×2 boards.

Related tutorial: How to make pocket holes.

Step 4: Build the Panels

The storage area is made up of four trimmed plywood panels—two long panels and two short ones.

• Attach the ¾” plywood side panels to the 2×2 legs using wood glue and 1¼” pocket hole screws.

• Attach the 1×2 trim to the top and bottom of the side plywood using wood glue and 1¼” finish nails.

The best way to do this is to align and clamp the 1×2 board and then flip the entire thing over and add the nails. This will make sure that the nails are not visible on the outside.

• Repeat to build two long panels and two short panels.

Step 5: Build the Sides

Now, it’s time to put the side frames together.

• Attach the 2×2 legs to the top arm using wood glue and 2 ½” pocket hole screws. Be sure to use a clamp to hold the board in place as you attach it to keep everything aligned.

This is a good time to fill the pocket holes in the legs because they are easily accessible. I used a dowel to fill the pocket holes. This is my go-to technique for filling pocket holes. See how to fill pocket holes.

• Attach the small panels using wood glue and pocket hole hole screws. Remember to use the 1¼” pocket hole screws through the plywood and 2 ½” pocket hole screws through the 2×2 boards.

• Attach the bottom to the legs to complete one side of the bench. Make sure that the pocket holes are outside so they will be hidden underneath the bench.

• Build two of these.

This is, again, a good time to fill up all the pocket holes on the sides as well as the pocket holes in the long panels that are attached to the 2×2 trim while they are still within reach.

Step 5: Assemble the Bench

With the sides ready, it is time to put everything together!

• Attach one long panel to a side frame using wood glue and pocket hole screws. Make sure to align the panel to the panels on the side.

• Attach the bottom to the long panel using wood glue and pocket hole screws

• Add the second long panel to the other side.
• Attach to the second side frame to complete the bench box.

Step 6: Final Finish

Time to make it pretty!

• Fill any visible pocket holes.
• Sand the entire bench with 220 grit to make sure there is no glue residue.
• For the ends of the arm – the edge grain is visible which will always absorb more stain and look darker than the rest of the edge grain. To combat that, I sanded it down to 500 grit. This made sure it absorbed stain just like the rest of the 220 grit sanded bench.

• (optional) Route the edges of the arms with a round-over bit. This makes it comfortable to hold and sit. Alternatively, you can also use a sander and go over the edges to soften them up.

• Stain or paint the bench in the color of your choice.

I applied a pre-stain conditioner to help the stain absorb evenly, followed by a gray/brown stain. Once the stain had dried, I didn’t like the look and decided to stain everything black with ebony wood stain. I am so glad I went with the black because it looks perfect!

See how to stain wood.

Once dry, I sealed it with a few coats of topcoat for durability.

Step 7: Attach the Top

The final step is attaching the hinged top to the bench frame!

I used a piano hinge, but you can use a regular hinge as well.

I started by attaching the hinge to the bench frame. It took me a little bit of trial and error to figure out how to support everything to attach, and I found that the best way was to lay everything on its side and attach it. Once one screw is in, it is easy to add the rest of the screws.

To make the top safer to use, I also installed lid support hinges. I’ve used these in other projects, and they work really well to hold the lid open while you grab things inside and save your fingers from being accidentally squished.

Highly Recommended: These Lid Support Hinges

And that is it!

And that’s how I built my DIY upholstered storage bench! It’s the perfect mix of style, function, and extra storage, and I love how it turned out.

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