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A single mudroom locker — a tall 1x12 box with a couple of internal shelves, hooks for coats and bags, and a face frame that dresses the front and hides the plywood back edge. It's a great confidence-builder: the whole thing goes together with a pocket-hole jig and a drill, no fancy tools required.
The box is four 1x12 boards and a plywood (or beadboard) back. Pocket-hole the shelves and the top corner, or if you'd rather, countersink screws through the outside of the sides into the shelf ends and fill the holes. Don't skip nailing the back to the shelves as well as the sides — the back panel is what keeps a tall, shallow box from racking, and tying it to the shelves stiffens the whole locker.
The face frame — leg trim, footer, and header/crown — is what turns a plywood box into a piece of furniture. Build it as a separate frame and nail it on, or attach the parts one at a time directly. Either works; the separate-frame method just gives crisper joints. Add the hooks last, and if you like the look, angle-cut the leg bottoms with a jigsaw.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 1x12, 10 ftSides, shelves, and top. | 2 each |
| 1x2, 8 ftFace-frame legs. | 2 each |
| 1x3, 14 ftFooter and header/crown. | 1 each |
| Plywood or beadboard, 1/4"Back panel, 17" x 68". | 1 each |
| Pocket-hole screws, 1-1/4" | 30 each |
| Finish nails, 1" and 2" | 60 each |
| Wood glue | 4 oz |
| Coat hooks | 3 each |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Box sides1x12 | 2 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 67 1/4" |
| Shelves1x12 | 3 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 15 1/2" |
| Top1x12 | 1 | 3/4" × 11 1/4" × 17" |
| Back1/4" plywood or beadboard | 1 | 1/4" × 17" × 68" |
| Face-frame legs1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 65 3/4" |
| Crown/header1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 17" |
| Footer1x3 | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 14" |
Buy 7 boards at 8 ft.
3 boards
1 board
2 boards
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
With a pocket-hole jig, drill three pocket holes in each end of the shelves and on one end of the sides, mark the shelf locations per the measurements, then glue and screw the box together. No jig? Use a countersink bit and 2" screws with glue driven from the outside of the sides into the shelf ends. Keep it square as you assemble.
Attach the 1/4" back with 1" finish nails and glue. Nail it to the shelves as well as the sides — the back adds real strength to the shelves and is what keeps the tall locker square. A nail gun is quick here, but hand-nailing works fine.
With a jig, build the face frame separately: pocket-hole both ends of the footer and the top ends of the leg trim, glue and screw it up, then nail it to the front of the locker with finish nails. Without a jig, attach the parts in order — leg trim first (outside edges flush), then footer and header, then the crown — and drive a 2" finish nail through the face of the crown into the 1x12 top so it can't lift.
Mount the coat hooks. If you like the look, cut the leg bottoms at an angle with a jigsaw. Sand, fill any holes, and finish. Anchor the locker to a wall stud if it will be used by kids — a tall, shallow cabinet is tippy when loaded.
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