Where did the mid-century entryway bench phenomenon come from? What makes the bench so popular?
I was always thinking that our most popular piece of furniture would be a bookcase, a sideboard or a desk – comfortable, with customized dimensions, where many of us will spend half of our lives, and workaholics even more.
What happens when you sit on the shoe rack
Let’s start from the beginning. All our pieces of furniture are based on the characteristic legs.
Darek designed them in such a way that they are very stable and at the same time light. The light passing through the openwork legs makes the entire apartment look sunlit … but let me get back to the point.
After creating the core of our collection: bookcases, sideboards and desks based on the design of the side legs, we received inquiries about other products, including a entryway bench. We thought why not? We asked the client to take a photo of the space where he wanted to place the bench and we made it – beautiful, mid-century bench for one of the corridors in Brooklyn. After the first one, another one and then one more was created because it turned out that the bench is in great demand, especially in the USA.
What secret hides mid-century entryway bench
„Extremly well build (…)” / „This is a beautifully constructed piece of furniture”
How is the shoe rack built?
We know how it was born, so now let’s present it in all its glory.
The mid-century modern bench is part of our collection of furniture made of plywood.
We obtain our material from Finland – why exactly there?
We have very high requirements in regards to the material we use and only few companies are able to meet our expectations.
Our wooden bench is based on slender legs in the shape of a ladder, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, making the bench an extremely stable piece of furniture. To ensure maximum seating comfort, we have placed the seat height at 49 cm. The legs of the bench reach above the seat height, which means that the bench has comfortable handrails that facilitate carrying it and storing items on it, preventing falls. The wooden bench is very comfortable as tested during many social and other situations; my children, friends and parents tested it thoroughly. We both sat on it at the same time and it was still comfy.
The legs of our furniture are very important; they are the basis of all of our projects. They can adapt to your space requirements, but they need a seat and crossbars to give them their final shape and function, to create a coherent whole.
See our store on Etsy!
At Plywood Project, we believe in continuous development and we want to meet all the needs of our customers. Therefore, in addition to our standard bench leg in the Low version shown in the attached picture, we have created a sister leg, straight and equally stable. The bench with this leg is slightly shallower, so it fits into narrower hallways and passages and has travelled to many homes around the world.
Our shoe storage bench has several basic features that make it perfect for furnishing challenging spaces:
- It is the first piece of furniture seen and often sat on by every guest in your home. The first impression is a lasting one, and the slender legs, perfect finish and natural color of the handmade piece will definitely delight anyone crossing the threshold of the house.
- Dimensions can be adjusted to your needs
- Weight-bearing capacity of up to 120 kg – you can easily sit on it while putting on your shoes
- Stability – due to the specific structure of the legs and plywood construction, the steadiness will not be challenged by impatiently squirming offspring or heavy purchases placed on one end of the bench.
The wooden bench you need
I know how important it is to adapt a piece of furniture to your space. I know this because I get emails from you every day with inquiries. The width of the bench is easily adjustable. Do you need it to be 97cm wide? No problem… 85, 73 or maybe 82.5 cm? No problem.
We are able to do exactly what you need, because we do it manually.
And when it comes to manual work…
See how the shoe bench is made
„The workmanship is amazing, the finish smooth as satin”
I don’t know if you are like me, but I really hate it when after searching for a piece of clothing for a long time, I finally find what I really like, I buy it, it arrives, I put it on and it is a total disaster: something wrong with the cut, too narrow here and too wide there. If you like to surround yourself with things made just right, that fit like a glove, you’ve come to the right place.
Accurate sizing, drilling holes and initial preparation of your furniture is just the beginning. Wiktor takes care of the next phase.
Wiktor sands the individual elements. The surfaces and edges are so smooth that you will never want to get off this bench. It is a precise activity and contrary to appearances not easy. And he does it like this:
Ola takes over the furniture from Wiktor. She is our oiling specialist and with a small roller she applies oil to each element. Looking at Ola working is like looking at an artist by the easel. It is a beautiful sight.
Finally, we cannot forget about Dawid’s foolproof packing, thanks to which parcels reach the farthest corners of the world without the slightest damage. It is not easy to pack furniture pieces precisely and safely and quite a logistical conundrum has to be solved to ship them from Poland to the USA. Each of you has probably seen more than once how the suitcases are handled at the airport. Well, parcels are treated even worse. But Dawid has worked out a system. His packing is infallible and damage claims are extremely rare. Read our customers’ comments; practically all of them mention the perfect packaging
A mid century bench – a piece of furniture – a celebrity. It seems so simple and yet so many people enjoy it. The number of positive comments about this unpretentious and multi-functional bench exceeds our wildest expectations. I think it is not necessary to paraphrase them, just read them and you will certainly understand what I am talking about.
Okay, Kasia, this is all great but what about assembling the entryway bench when it arrives? Should I call an assembly team? Can I handle it myself?
Well, in this case, assembly is probably too lofty a word, because putting this shoe bench together is a piece of cake. Even my friend Ala, a sworn enemy of all and any Do-It-Yourself projects, was able to tighten a few screws. The process is very simple; it will take you no more than 10 minutes and the success is guaranteed. To sweeten your efforts, you will get a few fudge candies – hand-made by us – so that even the assembly would be a nice experience.
I hope that these few words about mid century bench are enough. I recommend you to read the reviews of those who already have the bench in their homes. And of course, if you have any questions, write to us. We are always happy to create something with you.
