From the very beginning of purchasing our house i have been planning to put a bench in our mudroom/laundry room. This room was large enough to do so, and the builder had put a key drop table that was too high and just at the right height for my children to ram their heads into the pointy corner.
We got a quote from Lowes for a custom built unit and the total was nearly $3,000 (insert gasp here)! We considered building the entire thing from scratch, the bench and upper cabinet. I have seen many pictures of people doing this, however it scared us a little because we probably didn't have all the tools it took to make that happen.
I found a few pieces at different stores that i liked but the prices and sizes weren't right. Pottery Barn had a great bench and coat rack but the price for both was nearly $600. I found one at Pier One that was really great but it was way too small for the space we had to fill. The wall we wanted to put this on was 60" long.
I finally found a bench at ikea that was made as a TV stand but would work great as a bench, it also had a matching top cabinet. the bench is Hemnes, reg $199 we got it for $130 with ikea family card. the top part is Hemnes wall/bridging shelf, $120.
Here is what the area looked like before we started. Just a large key drop table.
So here is what we have so far. It is the main place when we enter from the garage where all our things get dumped; shoes, book bags and jackets. We plan on lowering the bench a little, the kids have a harder time getting on it right now. i also plan on making a cushion for the bench and hanging a key and mail basket. I love that the bottom bench has drawers, none of the other options we looked at had this! I can't wait to add some color with the cushion i am making.
New Update and changes to mud room: April 2014
