A custom entry way shoe storage

The client had the vision of a transitional piece of furniture between the main home entrance and the formal dining room - a show storage that moonlights as a bench and brings both rooms together.

Before/After

The brief

Functionality was key. A bench that will be used by family and friends who come to visit. Something easy to put the feet on or sit on to put on/take off shoes. A mix of open and closed storage for shoes, preferably closed to the dining room to not have to look at shoes while enjoying dinner. A lot of the inspo images that the clients shared had fluting, so we decided to bring that into the design as well.

Before getting deeper into the design, the range for the custom bench was set. Custom furniture typically ranges from $4k-15k.

Week 1-4: Design

We finalized a design that wraps around the open wall that connects the two spaces with curved cabinet doors on the dining room side and a sliding cabinet door with partially open storage on the entry hallway side. The most important part was to get the stain right as the client wanted to continue using the stain color throughout the house. We did a few rounds of stain samples to make sure we got it right and decided on a color that is a red mahogany style.

While the cabinet doors operate on a push mechanism to keep the surface as clean and minimalistic as possible, the sliding panel uses brass handles mirroring the brass footer throughout the piece. The footer sits at about an inch, just enough to offer a floating look.

Week 5-7: Fabrication and Installation

The bench was fabricated in three pieces, and they were all built in the workshop before moving them into the client’s house for a two-day installation.