A Floating Closet Bench Tutorial

Time: 2 Hours

Cost: $50

Skill: Moderate

Note: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links

Do you have a low use closet or nook? Perhaps a bedroom being used as an office? Then this floating bench tutorial is the perfect way to transition that space into a mudroom or drop zone style area.

Be sure to check out the finished drop zone here. I absolutely love how it turned out, and for just a little money and a few hours of work, you can create a unique focal point in your home!

The smaller of our two upstairs rooms is currently serving as an office for my husband, but in our grand plan, it will probably be a nursery (someday). In the meantime, we figure we won’t need a full closet, and would benefit more from a nice visual statement!

Since we don’t need the traditional closet space I decided that I wanted to do an open concept closet space. To start, I am building a floating bench inside the closet.

You can check out how the room looked when we moved in here in this post. We have made a ton of progress and I will be doing a complete reveal once we are done, but for now, here is a look at how I built the bench.

Update: “How to DIY a Drop Zone for Any Room in Your Home” post is now available, showing the full project.

Building a Floating Closet Bench for your Drop Zone

Here is a list of tools and materials I used to complete this project.

Materials:

• 2×4 (Length of Closet x 3) + (Depth x 2)
• 2×4 Joist Hanger (2)
• 1×5 (Length of Closet)
• Sanded Plywood (Length x Depth of Closet)
• 3 Inch Screws
• 2 Inch Finish Nails

Tools:

• Drill
• Saw
• Compressor and Nail Gun

Step One: Framing your DIY Floating Bench

Alright, so you have gathered all of your supplies, it is time to get building! The first task that needs to be completed, is framing out the floating bench. With that, you will be on your way to a brand new floating bench for your new mudroom or drop zone! Here are a few things you will need to determine in order to frame your floating bench…

Determining the Floating Bench Height

The first thing you are going to want to do is pick your bench height. I took a dining room chair and decided that it was a comfortable height, at 19 inches. I personally didn’t care how exact this measurement was, so I just put the chair up against the wall and marked the height.

Note: It is easier to mark in the center of the wall and then use a level to make sure the 2×4 is straight before you screw it in. If you were to measure from multiple spots on the floor your bench may be crooked.

Installing the Front and Back 2×4’s

Once I had the height marked, I measured the back wall. I determined the length of my 2×4, and cut it to size. It was a tight fit, so when I got it in place it stayed put. This allowed me to place the level on the board and using a hammer I lightly tapped each side until it was level. Once I was confident it was completely level I used 3 inch screws to drill it into the studs. Had it not fit snuggly in place, I would have just put a screw in the middle and then leveled it before screwing into the other studs.

Next I measured the front of the closet. Once I determined the length, I cut my second 2×4 to size. This piece also fit tight, so I was able to get it roughly in place and then lightly tap it with the hammer until it was level. I found it easiest to place the level across both boards (as pictured below). Using 3 inch screws I attached this board to the front of the closet.

Adding 2×4 Side Supports

With these boards in place, I measured the left and right side, and cut the 2×4 to each length.

I ran into a bit of trouble at this point when I realized that there were no studs in the sides of the closet. Since this is a floating bench, I really didn’t want to add legs for support. I did a bit of problem solving, and came up with this plan.

I cut a 2×4 into 1.5 inch blocks. Then I took each block, placed them in the corners, and using the 3 inch screws, I attached it twice to the back piece and once to the side piece.

As a means of checking the supports, I put a decent amount of pressure on these pieces, nothing moved. I am pretty confident that this was a good fix, and did not compromise the stability of the bench.

Adding 2×4 Interior Braces

After framing the outside of the bench, I needed to add bracers for support. I decided to add a third 2×4 the long way. You could cut up shorter pieces and secure them the other way, I am not sure if one process is better than the other. I chose the one that required the least work 🙂

To secure the 2×4 you could use a kreg jig to make pocket holes, or you could use joist hangers like I did.

I cut the 2×4 to size, and then realized that I did not have regular nails. Some of my online research showed that you should never use screws with joist hangers, but I am not building a porch or anything thing that needs to be insanely secure. I decided that it was perfectly fine to use screws. I found some old skinny 3 inch screws in our basement, that fit perfectly in the joist holes.

In order to determine where the joists should go I squeezed them to size on the end of the 2×4. I lined it up in the middle and placed a board on top to make sure it lined up flat with the 2×4 along the wall. Once I had it where I wanted I marked the two top holes. I took the 2×4 out so that I could have a bit of elbow room and screwed into the markings.

I then repeated this process on the other side.

Once you have all the framing in place, you can start working on the seat!

Step Two: The Bench Seat

I know I say this in every single post, but nothing in our house is even or square! I have just grown to expect it. As a result, it was a bit hard to figure out what size the bench seat should be cut to.

I decided that I would go with the smallest measurement on each side.

This was 18 x 57.

So I set out to Home Depot, and looked for something that would meet these measurements. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any boards that wide that were over 4 ft. So I ended up having to get them to cut down a 4×8 sheet of sanded maple plywood. This cost roughly $50.00. We only used a small portion of it for this project, so hopefully I can offset the cost by using the rest of the wood on something else.

Here is our sweet boy Gunner patiently waiting for someone to help us.

Once we got home, I took the piece of wood for the bench and threw it on top of the framing.

I slid it forward so it rests against the door casings. It fit great!

I used 2 inch nails in the finishing nail gun to secure it to the 2×4’s along the outer frame.

Since I went with the smallest measurements there are some gaps around the wall. I plan on adding paneling to cover the awful popcorn walls in the closet, and if that does not fully cover the gap, I will just add a quarter round to cover it.

Like this….

Step Three: Install Apron

Once the bench was in place I cut a 1×5 to fit over the front of the bench, which would sit between both side casings. I secured this apron piece using 2 inch finishing nails and a finishing nail gun. An easy way to make sure it stays aligned is to put another piece of flat wood across the top (or your level) while you are nailing, this will give you a nice smooth lip.

And just like that….you have a floating closet bench! Perfect for your next mudroom or drop zone closet renovation.

Update : The finished project can be viewed here, in my “How to DIY a Drop Zone for Any Room in Your Home” post.

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Are you looking for more home or craft inspiration? Check out how I built this adorable Wooden Book Bin for my nephew, or how I transformed this old window into a Wedding Seating Chart!