I’ve wished for a window seat here for years with a hinged top to hide dog food and bowls.
This was my dog food station before the window seat was added. Their water is kept in the sunroom on tile so it doesn’t wet and ruin the wood floor.
We had our kitchen renovated the year we moved in. This area was without brick and unfinished. I wanted to add a window seat or turn these windows into French doors to a deck or addition. We added a screened porch on the other side of the house so we do not need doors.
The window seat was quoted by 2 contractors and would cost $1000 at a minimum with materials and labor. No cushion.
My project cost about $250 in materials plus I added $122 for the custom cushion.
How did I decide the measurements?
WIDTH I measured the width of the space across the 2 windows which game me 62”.
HEIGHT Seat height was a little trickier. The floor to window sill was 16 7/16”. I knew I wanted to add a 4” cushion on top plus allowed some room to open the top. I went 15.5” for the height after taking those into consideration.
DEPTH The depth had some wiggle room as well. I chose to make it 18” deep. I wanted it to be a lower profile than the cabinets but still deep enough to sit on. One installed it was closer to 19” deep so I ordered a cushion 19” deep.
AIR VENT The floor vent was an important factor to plan out. The vent had to be extended to the front of the bench and I used a kick plate vent on the face. This part intimidated me but actually came together pretty easily.
Once I had my measurements I made a supply list
Materials
4×8 sheet of 1/4” plywood
4×8 sheet of 3/4” plywood
1x3x6 boards (exterior trim)
1x2x6 boards (create inner frame)
220 grit sandpaper block
Cabinet screws
Cabinet brackets
Piano hinges (I used 2 60” hinges)
Caulk/caulk gun
Paint (used existing cabinet paint)
Wood glue
Flame retardant duct tape
TOOLS
I used a miter saw, jig saw, drill, brad nailer, tin snippers, measuring tape, level, caulk gun, primer and paint
I had Lowe’s cut my plywood for me at the store. I do not have a pick up truck to haul sheets of plywood or a table saw. Lowe’s will cut it down making it easy to bring home and then most of it is precut for you.
I needed the following cuts for my specific size
CUT LIST
1/4” plywood
•62” long x 15.5” high (2 the same size for front/back)
•17.5” wide x 15.5” high (2 for the sides of the bench)
3/4” plywood
•62” long x 18” high (bench top)
•62” long x 2” high (piece to hinge top)
I brought the wood home and sanded edges well with my sanding block.
You can use really high quality wood or a lower grade plywood depending on your budget and desired outcome. I knew I was adding a cushion which increased my project cost so I went with more budget friendly wood.
I removed the quarter round. I didn’t have the tool needed to cut the baseboard at the corner of the cabinets. Because I couldn’t remove it I added a 62” piece of scrap wood below the window to screw the bench frame too.
At Lowe’s there is a section of ducting tubes, vents and ways to custom fit your space. My vent was 12” wide but they only had 10” wide adapters. This just sat in my duct and I used scrap wood blocks on the sides to close in the space. This idea came from the Lowe’s employee helping me.
I assembled the back and sides with brackets, screws and wood glue. I needed to complete the ducting before putting the front on.
I bought a sheet of 10” wide metal in the ducting section that can be cut and has notches to attach into a box.
I cut my 2 pieces the length from the floor vent to front of bench.
The 2 pieces fit into eachother to form a rectangular box just the size I needed!
The box fit into the raised floor piece and I taped it all really well with a flame retardant tape used for dryers and ducts. Believe it or not we already had this due to a recent dryer duct repair🥴
I traced the toe kick register on the front piece of the bench. Then I added ticks where the vents were and drew a slightly smaller outline.
I used my jig saw to cut out the outline and screwed it to the face then attached my front brackets. *Make sure to cut a little smaller than the vent cover so you have something to screw it to.
I used my miter saw to cut 1x2x6 boards and attached them with glue and screws to the inside of the box.
I screwed the back piece of the bench to the 62” wood piece under the window to secure it.
I added 1×3” trim to the front for added detail and primed it all.
I cut and added 1×2 boards to the left and ride interior to create the bench lid lip.
For the top I screwed the 2 piano hinges to the slim piece and bench top. I saw a blog where they screwed the slim piece from the inside up under and into it. I could not get that angle or make it happen.
Instead used 3 wood screws down from the top into the inner lip frame and countersink them best I could. My cushion will cover it but I did putty and paint over the screws.
While I wait for my custom cushion I put a few throw pillows on it. Inside to the left I have bags of dog food. On the right I keep their bowls and get them out twice a day.
Johnny Cash eats from a raised surface and the top of the bench is perfect. He’s a messy eater so I’ll probably get an absorbent place mat for here too.
The hounds eat off the floor. When meal time is over everything goes back in the bench.
I am anxiously awaiting a French tufted cushion in gray velvet. I looked up how to make one and it was waaaaaaay more work than I wanted to do. Here’s my amazon affiliate link for this customizable cushion https://amzn.to/4v5JTmc
There are many variations and blogs out there to check out before you begin. My plans followed a Lowe’s tutorial and then I had to kinda wing it for the ducting.
I hope this blog provides inspiration to build your own window seat!!!
Cheers- Kristen
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