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Building a window seat is an excellent weekend project that will result in extra seating, a visually pleasing new addition to your room, and depending on the design, extra storage, something most people need. You could easily create a simple or elaborate window seat for your kitchen, dining room, or living room, changing the functionality and appearance of the room. Although people often use bay window areas for a window seat, the truth is that any area of the home can be used.
If you do not have the perfect spot to build a window seat in, you can always choose a pre-manufactured wall cabinet to create a built-in window seat. With this, you would gain the additional seating and have lots of needed storage. For this type of project, you need to start by determining the exact measurements for the height, width, and depth of the cabinets. With these measurements, you can choose the appropriate cabinets, whether pre-manufactured or custom made. In addition, you need molding, along with side and base trim materials for your new window seat, which can also be purchased from a cabinetry manufacturer or home improvement store. The most important thing is to choose cabinets that are strong enough to bear the weight of a person sitting on the window bench. In fact, if the seat would hold more than one person, then the sturdiness should accommodate the maximum weight. To get ready to install your new window seat, remove any of the shoe molding around the wall and then build a wooden frame pedestal, using 2x4 lumber. This frame should be the same width as the window seat except for the depth, which would need to be two to three inches less. In addition, make sure your pedestal has a center support, which will provide the window seat with extra stability. Then, the frame would be laid flat inside the seating area, screwed on the sides and back of the wall to hold it in place. Once the area for the window seat is prepared, remove the cabinet doors, for convenience, as they will be added back on. Clamp the cabinets together, keeping them flush at the top and sides. Next, pilot drill holes in the side of the frames for each cabinet, screwing them with wood screws. Now, the cabinets would be centered between the two side walls. The base pedestal would be drilled and screwed into place. Then, measure the space between the cabinets and wall, measuring at the top and then below the base molding. These measurements would be transferred to a filler piece, cutting it to size. Remember, the filler piece for your new window seat needs to be the same height as the face of the cabinet. The sides of the cabinets would be fastened next. The next step for the window seat is to measure the length along the cabinet’s face, transferring the numbers to a piece of shelving material and then cutting to size. You want this material to match the cabinets as closely as possible. Next, a piece of the cabinet is trimmed to the same length. Pre-drill pilot holes through the edge trim and edge of the shelving material, nailing it in place. Then, use clamps to hold the top of the board flush during this process in that you want it to be straight. |
Hardware