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DIY Storage Chest

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Ever since we moved into our townhouse, we’ve been slowly adding to our furniture collection. One of the biggest necessities has been more storage space. In the living room, we’ve been just piling nicely folding blankets and leaving them out on the couch. It works, but we were ready for a more organized space. So I decided to make the blankets their very own home – the DIY storage chest.

Finally a place for all that fluffy blanket goodness!

If you’re looking for a quick-build storage solution, follow along below and download the plans & materials here.

This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy for more information.

DIY Blanket Storage Chest

TOOLS & SUPPLIES:

Step 1.

Line up the side pieces to sit flush on all edges with the outside edges of the base. Attach the sides of the bench to the base with 1-1/4” pocket hole screws and wood glue.

DIY Storage Chest Step 1

Step 2.

Position the front and back of the bench between the side pieces and flush with the outside edge of the base.

Attach to the sides and base with 1-1/4” pocket hole screws and wood glue.

DIY Storage Chest Step 2a
DIY Storage Chest Step 2b

Step 3.

Line up the trim so that it is flush with the top and bottom of the chest in order to hide the plywood edges. As seen on the cut list, I cut my trim with 45° mitered edges. Make sure the front and side trim pieces line up flush at those corner joints for a nice finished edge.

I already have all the trim on in this picture, but it shows that corner joint pretty clearly:

DIY Storage Chest Step 3

Attach the top and bottom trim to the chest with finish nails and wood glue.

I used a hammer, finish nails, and a nail setter since I don’t have a nailer right now (next on the list though!). A finishing nailer would go quicker, but use whatever you have available!

Step 4.

Position and attach the front upright trim pieces according to the dimensions shown on the plans. Set the upright trim so that it is flush with the edges of your top and bottom trim. Again, use finish nails and wood glue.

DIY Storage Chest Step 4

Looking from the back of the chest, the upright trim should overhang the edges 1/4” if it is flush with the top and bottom trim.

Step 5.

They’ve been in the last couple photos, but, after completing this build, I would choose to add the furniture feet now (after trim) rather than earlier. It’s not a deal-breaker situation, just a hindsight’s-20/20-preference (I just made that up … ).

Most feet come with bolts for easy attachment. Simply pre-drill the holes according to the bolt size and screw into place. I used some wood glue on the top of the feet before screwing into place to ensure a good hold.

DIY Storage Chest Step 5

Please excuse the case of Coors in the background …

*UPDATE: I originally used furniture feet from the Home Depot, but they made the blanket chest a little too tall to use as a bench comfortably. Since we wanted some extra seating in the living room, I decided to replace the original feet with some shorter ones. You can find them here (affiliate).

The blanket chest is just the right height for a bench now and looks super sleek!

Step 6.

Lastly, make the lid for the storage chest. I made my lid by attaching 1x4s and 1x6s with 1-1/4” pocket hole screws and wood glue from the bottom side of the lid to best hide the pocket holes.

DIY Storage Chest Step 6

As you can see, the lid boards were not totally flush when I first put them together since I was building with simple, rough-cut lumber. It took some elbow grease and sanding to make an even surface, but it was worth it!

For more details, see How to Build a Tabletop.

Step 7.

Once I had the storage box and lid built, I filled all holes and plywood edges with wood filler, let it dry, and then finished with sanding. I went over everything with 120 grit and then followed up with 220 grit, which left a nice baby-butt-smooth surface 🙂

Finally, paint or stain as desired! I used Glidden ‘Antique White’ for the chest and Minwax ‘Special Walnut’ and Polycrylic for the lid.

And, last but not least, attach the storage chest lid with hinges at the back of the chest. I just used basic hinges from the Home Depot.

DIY Storage Chest

Let me know if you have any questions.

And if you build from this plan, please share! I’d love to see it!

I’ve shared this project over at Remodelaholic for their Friday Favorites link up. Head over to see all the great ideas this week!

I WAS FEATURED ON REMODELAHOLIC
DIY Storage Chest
DIY Storage Chest

Steve

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

In the downloadable plans it list premium aspen boards, what are those used for in this project?

tylynn_sattler

Monday 7th of December 2020

I used aspen for the trim.

Carrie

Friday 30th of August 2019

I am making this as a first project with my Kreg! thank you for proving the plans. Did you sand everything before you put the trim on? Or after?

tylynn_sattler

Tuesday 3rd of September 2019

How exciting Carrie! I sanded after the trim was on. There shouldn't be any need to sand the plywood, but I did sand the trim to make sure all the joints were smooth.

10 DIY Storage Chests The Beauty of Functionality - DIY CHICKS

Saturday 25th of November 2017

[…] over its appearance too much; so long as it blends into your interior it’s going to be fine. Bitterroot made a simplistic storage chest and despite the lack of ornaments and decoration it looks […]

10 DIY Storage Chests That Are The Beauty of Functionality - DIY CHICKS

Friday 10th of November 2017

[…] over its appearance too much; so long as it blends into your interior it’s going to be fine. Bitterroot made a simplistic storage chest and despite the lack of ornaments and decoration it looks […]

Nicole

Monday 16th of October 2017

Absolutely love this! I've been looking for a blanket chest design that I loved for our guest room for some time and this is perfect. I was thinking have a cushion on the top might be nice. Do you think it would be strong enough to sit on? Thank you!

tylynn_sattler

Monday 16th of October 2017

Hi Nicole, I'm glad you like it! I had considered putting a cushion top of ours as well, but ended up just leaving it exposed. We do use it as a seat still though, and it's plenty strong (I used both pocket holes and wood glue to hold the boards together). However, I might suggest adding some "cleats" on the bottom of the lid, perpendicular to the boards, for extra support. You can always build it and see what you think, then add cleats later if necessary. I think I'll be adding some cleats to ours in the next few days :) Also, a heads up, I used 6" legs from Home Depot since they were a good price. The bench ends up about 18" tall with those, which is a little high for a seat. If you can, I'd go with some 3"-4" legs or make the storage section a little shorter so the total height is more like 16". That'll be most comfortable for a bench. Let me know if you have any more questions!

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