Storage Bench Plans

I have recently discovered a little gem called Google SketchUp. It's a thing of beauty really. And I know I am only scratching the surface of what you can accomplish with this program, but I'm getting done what I need to do.

This is the program that Ana uses to do her furniture plans, so if it's good enough for her it's good enough for me. I've been looking for a solution to my playroom problem. We recently gave away our gigantor couch and love seat and need seating in the playroom now. But why just get another couch when you can build a storage bench! Seating and storage all in one? Yes, I think so.

I wanted a bench with a flip top lid, but didn't want a bottomless pit for tiny pieces of toys to disappear into, so I went browsing via Al Gore's invention (the internet) and found the perfect bench! Not only was it flip top, but is has drawers on the bottom! AWESOME! And while it's

perty, those who know me know that I have no intention of paying $200-300 for a piece of furniture, especially one I could learn to build myself!

So I played around in Google Sketch Up and came up with this:
I made a few changes as you can see. First, no drawers, that's because I intend to build some custom sized rustic crates to fit those spots; and secondly I made the bottom flush with the floor. While I prefer the look of it having "feet", I just know what that means....constant dusting underneath and constant begging the kids to fish the stuff (the remote) out from under. It's possible I'll change my mind on this.....very possible.

So 2 of these are in the queue for our house, and possibly another for the boys room. Can't wait to show you the finished product! For the how to on this project click here!

****UPDATE****

Yeah I couldn't leave the bench like that...and despite the amount of dog fur that will end up under there, I had to have more style!

Here's the updated version!