The two busiest places in my kitchen are the refrigerator and the mud bench. Luckily, they're side by side.
Although the refrigerator cost a bundle, the mud bench was free and so easy! In fact, the hardest part about the mud bench was chiseling out a space to put it. In my old house, this space held the garbage can. What a waste of space that was!
To make this seat, I grabbed an old end table from storage. Here it is in an old Christmas picture from 2000.
I flipped over the table, unscrewed the legs and sides, then used a circular saw to cut down the top. While it was apart, I also cut down the legs to make the table a more comfortable sitting height.
Then I slapped on a coat of paint (my favorite color is Annie Sloan's Duck Egg).
The top of the bench is made from leftover wood from the cabinet maker but you could use pallet wood or barn wood.
For caps and jackets, I added an old garage sale shelf to the top and old doorknobs I'd collected. Then I screwed the unit to the wall, patched over the screw holes, and distressed the whole thing with clear wax, then dark wax.
(Here's a waxing tip: Clean up your wax brushes with hot water and Dawn Dishwashing Soap. Easy, cheap cleanup!)
Since we live in the country, I knew this would be a busy area so I wanted my bench and hanging unit to be separate. That way I could clean out the mud tray under the seat easily.
So have a seat. Change your shoes. Grab the dog leashes and get a cola from the frig. It's time to go for a walk!
