12 Clever DIY Ways To Turn Scrap Wood Into A Beautiful Entryway Statement Piece

Why is it important to have statement pieces in your home's entryway? Because your entryway creates the first impression of the inside of your home. It conveys your personality and individuality to visitors and sets the aesthetic tone for the rest of the house. Statement pieces catch the eye and help tell your story. While "statement piece" suggests high-end decor, you can save some cash by using scrap wood to construct the items yourself.

You'll likely find it useful to understand the three kinds of entryways and how best to decorate them. Foyers, mudrooms, and hallways comprise the three types; determine which type of statement pieces will work best for your entryway. The space each type offers can guide your selections. For example, a foyer will have space for larger furniture statement pieces like tables and benches, while a hallway might not.  

We've compiled a dozen suggestions for beautiful entryway statement pieces you can DIY with scrap wood. You'll find an overview of how to execute the DIY for each statement piece; several are easy enough for novice DIYers.

If you have a narrow entryway, a console table fits the space nicely and makes a statement, especially when you style the top with decor items. This style table could not be easier to DIY from 31-inch pieces of 2-by-4, well-sanded and attached together with mitered corners using wood glue, dowels, and sturdy bracket hardware. You can customize the hardware and select a paint or stain color that complements your entryway. Style it with a lamp, artwork, and a little dish for dropping keys, and you're all set.

Many entryways provide a rack to hang keys, but yours can make a statement if you apply a touch of artistry, creating not only the key rack from scrap wood, but also pictorial components. Consider using an irregularly shaped piece of scrap wood as the base for the keyrack. Glue together the smaller pieces of wood that form the pictorial elements and glue onto a narrow shelf. Drill holes for dowels that serve as pegs for keys. Paint or stain if desired, or apply a coat of polyurethane.

Living walls — literally, walls of plants — are part of the current "biophilic" design trend in which homeowners are bringing the outside in to make a statement. Instead of installing a pricey full living wall, DIY a miniature version with scrap wood. This project starts with building a square box and filling it with potting soil. Then, attach a square frame with mesh hardware cloth stapled to the inside of the frame. Cut holes in the mesh for plants. Check out the best plants to use to create a stunning living wall indoors – in miniature.

A mirror is a handy feature in an entryway so you can take that last peek at your appearance before leaving the house. Why not make a statement with a fun, colorful frame? This easy project starts with cutting the mirror base out of scrap plywood. Paint or stain small pieces of scrap wood in a color scheme of your choice. Arrange the scraps on the frame and glue them down. Finally, purchase a self-adhesive mirror sheet in the size of your choice. Voila!

A hat and coat rack made of a piece of scrap wood and wooden hangers earns entryway statement status because it's so darned clever and offers a sculptural look. In this easy project, a piece of each wooden hanger is cut off, and the remaining hanger attached to scrap-wood board. The piece is then flipped over and affixed to the entryway wall. You can hang coats and other garments from the inverted hanger hooks and hats on the pointed ends of the hangers. Leave the natural wood or apply paint or stain.  

Even a humble set of shelves can serve as an entryway statement piece when its stylish, floating design shows off your treasures. This DIY uses 2-by-6 scrap for a frame for the shelves to "float" on and scrap ¾-inch plywood for the shelves. The frame should be a bit smaller than your planned shelves, which are made in a tray style with a lip so objects don't fall off. Paint or stain sanded wood pieces as desired, and consider decorative L-brackets on the shelf corners for an elevated look.

Make an entryway statement with elegant candleholders that showcase the natural beauty of wood and belie their lowly scrap-wood origins. This project may be more suitable for DIYers with advanced equipment and skills, such as using a router, which is required for making the circular base pieces and rounding their edges. You'll also need lathe skills to form the cups where the candles sit; these are made from laminated scrap with wood in three colors. Finish with tung oil and polyurethane. 

A good reason not to toss your scrap wood is that you can turn it into chic minimalistic wall art instead. Simply take scraps of wood of the same thickness and paint or stain them in colors or tones to complement your entryway. Acrylic paint is a good choice for painting the scraps in your preferred colors. You can use MDF as the backing for your pieces and affix them using a construction adhesive like Liquid Nails. Consider giving them a distressed look with some light sanding after the paint or stain is dry. 

You can make stunning use of a lot of scrap wood by creating a statement accent wall for your entryway. This project begins with attaching 1-by-3 furring strips directly to the wall with construction adhesive and 1½-inch backed screws. Then attach enough ¼-inch plywood to cover the strips, using the same type screws. Use a level to draw a line as the starting place for the wood pieces. Consider scraps of varying thicknesses to add dimension, and affix them to the plywood with construction adhesive and brad nails. Paint or stain if desired.

A tray provides an innovative way to gather and contain decor objects you want to display — or it can serve in a more functional capacity as a receptacle for mail and keys. Having a designated place for mail goes a long way toward keeping your entryway clean and organized. You can make a simple rectangular box, or add short legs or a handle for more height. After you've put it together and applied paint, consider a stenciled design or wording on the front to give it even more character.

A bench is an item you'll wonder how you ever lived without in your entryway, especially in you live in a cold or wet climate and need a place to pull on and take off boots. You can DIY a rustic entryway bench with scrap 2-by-4 cut into pieces and formed into open rectangles with construction screws. The top piece is a 2-by-8 cut in half and attached to the leg pieces with screws. Paint or stain according to your preference.

This unexpected piece of wall decor is a simple project made with wood scraps and a galvanized flower bucket from Dollar Tree which you can fill with mail, keys, or faux greenery that can be changed out to match the season. Build a backing piece from scrap wood or a pallet. You can create a distressed look with diluted paint or lime wash. Screw the small bucket onto the backing with just one screw near the top. Stencil text or a design on the bucket or backing wood if desired.