Condo Blues: How to Make a Sliding Under Bed Fabric Storage Box

Sunday, March 5, 2017

How to Make a Sliding Under Bed Fabric Storage Box

Even though I am fairly strict about only buying fabric and craft supplies that I need for a specific project to keep me from being overrun with cute supplies I won’t use I still have a lot of leftover fabric stored in plastic storage tubs throughout the house.

Which makes it difficult to use in a stash bust project because I have fabric here, there, and everywhere - especially under the bed in my guest room/craft room. There is quite a bit of unused storage space under the guest bed but all of the storage options I found where laughably small for what I wanted to consolidate from around the house and store under the bed.

The only solution is to build an epic super fantastic awesome fabric solution for my craft room that holds ALL of my extra fabric, makes use of all of the empty space under the bed, slides underneath when not in use!

Lisa didn't build a difficult earth shattering small space storage solution. She made a simple beginner pocket hole jig project - a storage box.
 By the way, Lisa's fabric stash is really comfortable and she totally loves it when I cover it in dog hair.

OK, I built a box.

An under the bed fabric storage box.

But it is a huge box that runs the width of the bed, slides out easily on the carpeting, and is a fantastic DIY pocket hole project for all of you who are intrigued but nervous about using a pocket hole jig.

How to Build an Easy Pocket Hole Sliding Storage Box 

Don’t worry. You got this. We’ll build a fantastic and EPIC under the bed storage box and it won’t hurt a bit!

Seriously.


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You will need:

2 1inch x 10 inch by 10ft boards – This will be the front and sides of our storage box

1/4 inch Lauan Plywood 2 ft. x 4 ft. – This will be the bottom of our storage box

Tape Measure


Pencil

Saw – I used a compound miter saw

Pocket hole jig

1 1/2 inch Pocket hole screws

Drill

90 Degree corner clamps – very helpful!

Wood glue

Brad nail gun

1 1/2 inch brad nails

Orbital Sander

Sandpaper combo pack

Paint – I am using chalk paint to see why everyone is going coo-coo for coco puffs over it.

Paint Brush

Chalk paint wax

Chalk paint wax brush
 
Rags

Furniture sliders

E6000 glue


How to Make it Step by Step Tutorial:

The directions in this tutorial are for an under bed storage box that is the width of a double size bed.

1. Measure the 1/4 inch Lauan Plywood and boards with the tape measure to learn the exact measurements of each piece of lumber.
Beginner tip: When buying lumber the measurements may not be exact. For example the actual measurements of the  1” x 10’ x 10 ft. boards I bought are   0.75 inches x 9.25 inches x 10 feet. Yes, it is infuriating and why I have a small tape measure keychain with me at all times.

2. Cut 2 - 24 inch (2 feet) boards with the saw to make the front and back pieces of the storage box
Beginner tip: Some home improvement store like Home Depot and Lowes may have a saw and will make these cuts for you.

3. Cut 2 – 48 inch (4 feet) boards with the saw to make the side pieces of the storage box.

4. Clamp the pocket hole jig to a level work surface and use it and the drill to make at five pocket holes (I drilled two pocket holes at each corner and one in the center) in each end of the side boards.

 Getting jiggy with it!

5. Clamp together one end of a 48 inch board on top of one end of a 24 inch board (pocket holes facing inside the box, natch) to make the first corner of the storage box and screw it together using the 1 1/2 inch pocket screws
Note: The first corner is always the most difficult. It will get easer as you build more of the box.
Extra Note: You can run a bead of wood glue on the corner board for extra sturdiness if you like.
Extra Extra Note: I have nothing else to say here other than I like grouping things in threes.

6. Continue clamping and screwing the side boards to the front and back boards to make a box shape.

This is a miniature version of what you created – an open box!


7. Run a bead of wood glue on all four of the top edges of the box, put the 1/4 inch Lauan Plywood on what will be the bottom of the storage box and use the nail gun to nail it into place.

You can use a hammer and nails if you do not have a brad nailer 
(but I suggest you buy one, they are cool!)
Tip: If you want to fill any seams, nicks, or nail holes with wood filler and your pocket holes with wood pocket hole plugs now is the time to do it.

8. Use the orbital sander and sandpaper to sand the outside and inside of the storage box smooth starting with 80 grit sandpaper, then 100 grit,  then 120 grit, followed by 150 grit, and finally 180 grit.
Beginner tip: Grit is used to measure the roughness of the sandpaper. The lower the grit number the rougher the sandpaper. The higher the grit number the finer the sandpaper.

9. Wipe any stray sawdust from the storage box with a clean rag and apply two coats of paint to the storage box allowing the paint to thoroughly dry (I let mine dry overnight) in between each coat.

 My fabric storage holds three plastic storage tubs of fabric in one place!

I painted both the inside and the outside of my sewing fabric organizer to ensure the bottom of the storage box is as smooth as possible as an extra precaution against snagging my some of the finer and expensive historical fabrics.

In hindsight I probably didn’t need to but it was an unseasonably 78 degree (F ) day in February and I wanted to spend as much time as I could outside enjoying the sun. 

PS:Three days later it is snowing as I’m writing this tutorial. Ohio weather is not for the faint hearted!

10. If you are using chalk paint like I did, apply a thin coat of chalk paint wax to the outside of the box, allow it to sit for a few minutes, and buff the area with a clean dry rag.

I waxed the outside of the box because I was not sure if the still curing wax would affect the fabric I am storing in my under bed box.

11. Use the E6000 glue in a well ventilated area (I cannot stress this enough!) to glue the plastic carpet siders to each corner on the bottom of the storage box.

 I like furniture sliders over castors because they have a smaller vertical footprint.

12. Organize all of your fabric and treasures inside the storage box and slide it out of sight under your bed!

Would you rather buy than DIY? Check out the following under the bed storage ideas - and more! - below!

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3 comments :

Chas' Crazy Creations said...

We could all use more storage, this is great! Thanks for sharing.

Reidland Family said...

We all need more storage and I love under the bed storage. It's such a great use of otherwise wasted space.

Liz said...

Love the picture of your pup in the box, it looked very comfortable. Great idea, good for you! Thank you for bringing it to FF.

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