This past weekend's project.......A new bench and storage locker.

So, storage is always an issue with the Sassy family. With a very active 11 year old boy, we seem to have piles of stuff: School stuff, football stuff, Xbox stuff, and shoes. That kid has more shoes than I do! That is saying a lot. So, to combat all the clutter, we (meaning myself and the lucky man who married me) chose to build a new storage solution for our living room. The plan was to have a place to put shoes and a backpack, as well as an out of the way place for all those annoying things I find all over my house (like tools from Mr. Sassy, and Nerf darts from the Sassy in training).

This project seemed to fit the bill. First up, a storage bench. This has a cubby specifically sized for the HUGE backpack Jr. Sassy needs to keep all his school stuff together, as well as a couple shelves for his shoes. My plan is to soon sew a cushion for the top so it can be a window seat as well. That way when the boys in my life have to crowd around the computer screen to play/watch one of the annoying games or YouTube videos that are constantly on in my house, they don't have to drag the dining room chairs across my hard wood floors into the living room!

Now, see all that empty space to the left, well that is the perfect spot to put a large storage "locker" for a few coats, a school ID, some baskets to collect the stuff I find around the house, and, at my hubby's insistence, a charging station for the multiple electronics and phones we seem to constantly have plugged in on my kitchen counter! (Of course he just wanted the charging station, the rest was totally at my insistence!). So after a quick trip to Home Depot (which is starting to show up on my bank statements almost as much as Michael's!) we got to work on this little beauty.

It took an extra day, but I insisted on paint and doors before I showed you the final project. I did decide to share without the seat cushion (mostly because in my yards and yards of fabric stash, I don't have any fabric that matches). So, without further ado, here is the finished project. I have to say, I'm rather proud!

                           

So remember when I told you all I was not a professional crafter? The same thing goes for woodworking. (Thank goodness I didn't have to show you all the mistakes I made in the cutting sizes for these pieces!) I am definitely not a smart enough furniture builder to have figured this out myself (although I will say that I am getting much better at it!). Instead, I was lucky enough to stumble across this lovely building site. I had to do some tweaking of the plans because they didn't exactly fit my space, but the majority of the idea for this project came from the plans Ana and her cohorts have been kind enough to supply. So, if you are interested in building the charging locker, check out the plans here and the bench can be found here (I only used the bench portion). So, the projects took less than four hours of my weekend (the doors and hooks and hardware took some of my Monday night as well). Well worth it and I feel a little more organized, not to mention hubby and I spent some quality time together. Can't ask for a better way to spend the weekend than that! So, roust your man off the couch, or even better, grab a few tools and do it yourself. Trust me, the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful!

Sassy