DIY mudroom using IKEA STUVA benches

mudroom-diy-full1

At our old house, we had a tiny entryway where we all fumbled over one another trying to remove our shoes and coats before we got mud and dirt everywhere. There was very little space to hang coats or backpacks or purses, and even less to store shoes.

So when we bought a home, I knew for a fact that I wanted a big entryway and a mudroom setup where our family of 5 could stow away all their c-r-a-p in a decent-looking manner – and we found something that fit the bill.

After looking at plenty of DIY mudrooms and IKEA mudroom hacks online, I put together a little plan for what I wanted. I loved the idea of using a TV console or storage bench from IKEA as the main portion for storing shoes and then building some board & batten behind it (which I am completely obsessed with). And that’s how the dream came into being. Since I’m a visual person, I used masking tape and cardboard to plan and show the Mr. what I was thinking. He laughed at my methods, but I said, “you just wait.”

mudroom-planning

We bought 2 Ikea STUVA storage benches in white from Ikea, which I knew would be plenty of space for all 5 of us to store our shoes.

To create the board and batten, we purchased 1x3s for all the vertical boards and a 1×4 for the horizontal board that the coat hooks (IKEA SVARTSJÖN hooks, $2.99 a piece) are screwed into.

The shelf on top is made from a 1×6; I planned to use more 1×4, but realized I needed extra width for the corbels I was purchasing to support the shelf. In case you can see all the measurements for the space on my blog.

To put everything together, here’s the process we followed:

  1. Put together Stuva benches and paint (spray with primer then use a foam roller made for cabinets to paint two smooth coats).
  2. Cut away baseboards behind benches so they fit snug against the wall.
  3. Screw benches into the wall studs.
  4. Lay stained/sealed pine boards on top of benches and screw into benches from underneath.
  5. Cut 1x3s and 1x4s and attach to wall with nail gun.
  6. Attach shelf using Kreg Jig.
  7. Hang corbels using nail gun (nail directly into wall and from above through the shelf).
  8. Caulk EVERYTHING (this took forever, but man does it look good after).
  9. Paint board and batten and shelf same white color as trim in house (as you can see, our board and batten blends into the existing staircase above).
  10. Hang hooks

To see more pictures and details, check out my blog.