How to Make a Hall Tree that is Renter Friendly

Easy Move DIY Hall Tree

8/16/2023

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My daughter-in-law needed a place for all the things the grandkids bring into the house after school. She needed some kind of landing zone for backpacks, shoes, school supplies and more!

This is what we came up with. Since she is in an apartment and plans to move in the future, we built it with that in mind. It can easily be taken apart and moved to a new location.

Materials/Tools:

(2) 3/4in Sand Plywood (Home Depot)
(2) 1x3 8ft Select Pine (Home Depot)
(3) 1x3 6ft Select Pine (Home Depot)
(2) 1x2 8ft Select Pine (Home Depot)
(4) Everbilt Satin Nickel Single Robe Hook (Home Depot)
BEHR Elephant Skin Paint (Home Depot)
Everbilt Heavy-Duty Anti-Skid Surface Pads (Home Depot)
Kreg 24 in. Rip-Cut Aluminum Circular Saw Guide (Home Depot)
Makita Sub-Compact Circular Saw (Tool Only) (Home Depot)
Makita 18V X2 LXT Lithium-Ion (36V) Brushless Cordless 6-1/2 in. Plunge Circular Saw (Home Depot)
Makita 39 in. Plunge Saw Guide Rail (Home Depot)
Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig 720 (Home Depot)
Rockler Clamp-It Clips, 4-Pack (Rockler)
Rockler Quick-Release Pock-It Hole Clamp (Rockler)
RYOBI ONE+ 18V 18-Gauge Cordless AirStrike Brad Nailer (Home Depot)
Wood Glue (Home Depot)
Simpson Strong-Tie Wafer-Head Wood Screw (Home Depot)
(3) Storage Basket (Target)

We used two sheets of 3/4 inch plywood.

And lastly, we picked up baskets from Target to go in the cubbies.

Buying lumber at the Home Depot for the landing zone.

We picked up boards for the face frame that we will use to frame out the front of the bench.

Everbilt Heavy-Duty Anti-Skid Surface Pads from the Home Depot.

We picked up two packages of "feet" which will go on the bottom of the bench.

Kreg 24 in. Rip-Cut Aluminum Circular Saw Guide used with a Makita circular saw.

We are using the Kreg 24 in. Rip-Cut Aluminum Circular Saw Guide with our Makita circular saw to cut down the plywood for the bench pieces.

Download Cut List PDF HERE

The bench portion of the hall tree bench.

Once everything was cut we dry fit all the pieces. It all looked good so we moved onto assembly.

The center supports are 15 inches apart.

We placed those center supports 15 inches apart (watch the video for more detail).

We used a Kreg pocket hole jig to make pocket holes for assembling.

We are using pocket hole joinery. Most of the pocket holes were on the back or bottom so that they would be hidden.

Those corner clamps are from Rockler and help to hold the box square while assembling.

These pocket holes are in the ceiling of the bench. They will be filled with wood fill and should not be noticeable in the finished bench. Those corner clamps are from Rockler and help to hold the box square while assembling.

How to make a landing zone nicer by using a wood face frame.

On to cutting the smaller boards for the face frame which we cut on a Milwaukee battery powered miter saw.

Download Cut List PDF HERE

The face frame for the bench front is assembled with pocket hole screws.

The face frame was glued and brad nailed into place.

Cutting the boards for the back of the landing zone hall tree.

We cut the back to the length we wanted and then cut the plywood exactly in the center vertically.

In the dry fit, the back of the landing zone fit perfectly.

Before moving on to the assembly of the back, we dry fit it together with clamps to check the placement of everything.

Using an iron to attach iron-on edge banding.

The top edge and sides of the plywood will show in the finished build so we iron-on some edge banding to finish the edges.

Here's a close up look at the edge banding in place.

The edge banding, as seen in the bottom of this picture, gives a nice finish to the edge.

In this image, you can see we are only gluing and brad nailing half of the board to the edge. When put together, the other board will slip behind this one so the seam is hidden.

The vertical boards on the back of the hall tree are a design element, but the center one also functions to hide the seam between the two halves of the back. In this image, you can see we are only gluing and brad nailing half of the board to the edge. When put together, the other board will slip behind this one so the seam is hidden.

We countersunk the screws so that the screw heads would not scratch the wall.

When the hall tree is assembled, two horizontal boards will keep the two halves in place. We countersunk the screws so that the screw heads would not scratch the wall.

The paint was thinned with Floetrol. Floetrol is also great for thinning paint that has thicken while it has been in storage.

The latex paint we used was thinned with Floetrol so that it would go on thinly. We wanted the grain of the wood to show through.

Attaching the Everbilt Heavy-Duty Anti-Skid Surface Pads to the bottom of the bench.

We added these 'feet' to keep the base from sliding and marking the floor.

We added these Everbilt Satin Nickel Single Robe Hooks to the center of each of the decorative cross bars for functionality in the drop zone.

We added these simple hooks in the middle of each of the decorative crossbars.

how to cut foam. Use an electric carving knife to cut high density foam easily and efficiently.

As a final touch, we decided to make an upholstered cushion for the top. This is a piece of foam that we are reusing and cutting to size. I'm using an electric carving knife while Steph is directing the tip from the front. This is a very quick and efficient way to cut foam.

A close up look at the upholstered bench cushion.

Off-camera, I sewed the cover for the cushion. I'm pointing to the corner as I'm pretty proud of how well they came out! Fitting a 90 degree angled piece of fabric into a corner is not an easy thing to do. The fabric is left over from when I upholstered by mid-century modern dining room chairs.

The hall tree was easy to transport to its new location and assembled according too plan.

Here Steph is installing the hall tree in its new home. It traveled well and went together as planned.

With the backs in place, the support bar is screwed Ito place securing the two halves.

With the backs in place, the support bar is screwed into place securing the two halves.

It would have been a good idea to bring the back up past the baseboard so it would fit closer to the wall.

If we had built this where it was going to 'live' we would have noticed we needed to bring the back up past the baseboard. It still works though.

This light switch was a bit of a problem to build around.

One of the things we had to take into consideration in this build was this light switch. It is not regularly used, but it still needed to be assessable.

The new Hall Tree came in around $207.33 for materials o including the cushion.

This is the breakdown of the cost when it was build in July, 2023 (this does not include the cost of the cushion and baskets).

The hall tree fits easily in a Honda CRV with the back seats down.

Here it is at my house.

The new hall tree, landing zone, drop zone is already for school backpacks, purses, lunches, and shoes.

Here it is in its final location all ready for school backpacks!

My daughter-in-law and grandchildren are VERY happy with their new hall tree. It will help them to corral all the stuff they bring in from the car as it will hold all their backpacks, shoes, and more!

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

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