WINDOW SEAT LOVE ~ Now That You Are Home...

Your home is your castle, so to speak. Whether it is large or small, old or new, Contemporary or Traditional, it is your living space. It is where you eat, sleep, grow, work, raise a family, share with friends, relax and come home to at the end of each day. Also for me, a place to dream. And that dream includes looking at my home and wondering what I can do with a space to make it more livable, more organized, more home. Or, as I am constantly being reminded, another place to feather my nest. This nest has unlimited potential for improvements, I’ve been dreaming for a long while about some of these nooks.

Right Dormer...

Left Dormer... Yes, an embarrassing spot in need of a little love. No judging, please.

One, or actually two of these nooks are the two dormers in my loft/home office/workspace. They are an invitation just waiting for a party. I think the perfect solution would be window seats with a removable lid for storage. You don’t need a dormer to make a window seat, just a little space and if you are lucky, a window. Take a second look around, you may find several micro spaces just waiting for your attention. What space do you have that is waiting to be transformed? Dream, create, build and live. Start here.

This is what you will need to build your window seat-

Frame:

2” x 4” Wood Boards

Front:

½” Cabinet Grade Plywood

Lid:

½” Cabinet Grade Plywood

Trim:

½” x 2” Select (no knots) Wood

Power Drill

Nail Gun or Hammer

Jig Saw

Counter Sink Drill Bit

Screws

Wood Glue

Finishing Nails

Felt Furniture Guides

Tape Measure

Pencil

Primer Paint

Paint

Paint Brush

Wood Putty

Fine and Medium Grit Sand Paper

Safety Goggles

Measure your space and determine the size of your window seat. Mine will be 43” wide, 27” tall and 24” deep.

My local hardware store happily cut my large pieces of plywood to they would fit in my car. They will also cut your smaller pieces too, if you ask.

Cut and assembled the bottom frame. Pre- drill (pilot holes), glue then screw together. Note the orientation of the boards.

I placed the bottom frame on the floor to make sure it will fit nicely in the space. I did not want a snug fit because I do not want this window seat to be permanent.

Add your felt furniture guides to the bottom of the frame.

Measure and cut 8 boards to glue and screw together to form four “legs” or the corners.

The legs need to be attached to the bottom frame with screws using a counter sink bit, at an angle.

Cut and assemble the top frame. Note the board orientation is not the same as the bottom frame orientation. This placement of the boards is to give the top additional support.

You will have to use the countersink drill bit to attach the top frame side boards to the top frame front and back boards.

Attach the top frame to the four corner legs. Using the counter sink drill bit, pre -drill the holes to make sure the head of the screw will be below the surface of the frame so the top will lay smooth and even.

Measure your front panel of the plywood and cut with the jig saw.

Sand all edges with medium grit sandpaper. Watch out for splinters!

Apply glue to the front panel.

Attach the front panel to the frame. I used a nail gun, but a hammer will work nicely too. Just make sure you pre-drill your holes and use small finishing nails if you use a hammer.

Measure, cut, glue and place the top horizontal trim piece up 1/2” from the top edge of the front panel. This is to hide the cut edge of the plywood top. Nail in place.

Measure, cut and glue the bottom horizontal trim piece for the front. Nail in place.