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A few years back, on a road trip through Colorado, my wife and I stayed at a beautifully remodeled historic hotel.

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While waiting to check in, I found myself studying the furniture (as I often do) and was struck by how a large, well-designed piece transformed the lobby. While it was quite a different piece of furniture, that memory inspired the modern hall tree we've built here: It's practical yet elegant, with ample shelving, roomy drawers, hidden hooks and a hand-rubbed finish that highlights the wood's natural character.

Normally I recommend finishing as many parts as possible before assembly, but this time the sheen and coverage of the wipe-on polyurethane varied enough that I had to sand back some pieces and reapply it for a consistent look. While prefinishing didn’t save me much time in this case, your project may differ, so finish it when it makes the most sense for your workflow.

CUT THE PARTS

Use a table saw to cut all the parts from the cutting list (see page 18). Cut so the grain runs the length of plywood pieces as usual, except for the seat cabinet sides (B), where the grain should run vertically.

Install the dado blade and cut ¼-in.-deep x ²³/₃₂-in.-wide dadoes in the seat cabinet top/bottom (A), sides (B) and dividers (C); tall cabinet top/bottom (F) and sides (G); and drawer box fronts (R) and sides (S) (see Figure A). Then cut rabbets of the same depth and width along the top and bottom edges of the seat and tall cabinet sides (B and G).

ASSEMBLE THE SEAT CABINET