How to Build a Footstool With Storage

While building storage space into a footstool may sound like a good idea, it's important to consider the amount of storage you're looking to establish; footstools seldom rise more than 18 inches from the floor. This large footstool, however, will keep your feet off a cold floor and provide over five cubic feet of storage space. Build your footstool with plenty of soft padding and the right dimensions to hold games or to collect magazines and newspapers for recycling.

2 side pieces of 3/8 inch plywood, 14-by-24 inches
2 side pieces of 3/8 inch plywood, 14-by-29 inches
2 pieces of 5/8 inch plywood, 24-by-30 inches
4 pieces of 2-by-4 inch board, 14 inches long
4 pieces of 2-by-4 inch board, 22 inches long
Sandpaper
Construction adhesive
1-inch wood screws
4 penny nails
Screw driver
Hammer
Drill
28-inch continuous "piano" hinge
2 safety "toy box opener" hinges
Hand router
1/2-inch and 2-inch polyfoam
Approximately 3 yards of upholstery
Stapler
Upholstery tacks and hammer
Casters, slide glides or furniture feet

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the lumber and lightly sand all surfaces and edges of both the plywood and the 2-by-4 lumber that will form the internal braces; this will prevent splintering during handling. Also, sanding at this point is simpler than trying to sand the interior of the box after it’s finished.
- 2
  Tack one 14-inch 2-by-4 brace along each edge of the 14-by-29-inch side pieces with construction adhesive. Add the 22-inch top and bottom 2-by-4 braces. Attach the long plywood sides to the braces with a few wood screws.
- 3
  Form a rectangular box with the 14-by-24 inch sides and longer, framed sides. Tack the 14-by-24-inch sides to the sides of the 14-inch upright braces with a few nails.
- 4
  Check the corners to make sure that they are square and screw a 24-by-30-inch 5/8-inch plywood bottom piece into the braces at the corner and along the front and back sides. Turn the box upright and replace the nails at the corners of the short sides with wood screws.
- 5
  Rout notches along the top of one long side of the 5/8-inch plywood top to fit the piano hinge. Install this long hinge with screws included in the package. Mark and install the safety hinges on the interior of both sides
- 6
  Staple 1/2-inch polyfoam around the sides. Cover the top with a 2-inch “pillow” of foam and cover it with 1/2-inch foam, drawing it around the edges and stapling it underneath the top.
- 7
  Cut or construct an 17-inch wide strip of upholstery material to cover the sides (108 inches) of the box. Cut a 28-by-34 inch piece to cover the top.
- 8
  Apply the upholstery fabric to the sides, folding and stapling it under the bottom and over the edges of the top. In the back, where the piano hinge blocks upholstery, clip the material at the corners, fold it over and staple it along the top along the outside of the box. Treat the top the same way along the piano hinge.
- 9
  Fold the rest of the material under the top and staple, pulling gently so the material forms a cushion but does not compress the foam.
- 10
  Add your choice of casters, slide glides or furniture feet to the bottom of the box at the corners.

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