Updated picture: Window Seat and Kitchen Makeover
My window seat is done…and I am so excited to share it with all of you loveies! So…as most of you know I am knee deep in a kitchen remodel.
Step One: The removal of the ugly, hideous no one would ever plan anything in this space planning desk.
Step Two: The building of Heather’s Dream Window Seat That Has Added 8 Feet of Storage to Her Kitchen
For several years now I have envisioned a window seat in the bay window in my kitchen. We have a beautiful 2 acre backyard, and I imagined sitting up in a window seat drinking coffee and looking out over the farm land and woods behind my house.
I could see in my mind The Girl sitting on the seat in the warm afternoon sun reading a book curled up with Bear Bryant (her dog…not the football coach. That would be weird. And yes we are U of Alabama fans. big time.)
Once I begged and pleaded convinced Bama Boy to finally take on remodeling the kitchen, my second demand request after tearing out the non functioning planning desk was building my window seat.
He in turn begged convinced our neighbor, Will “The Tool Man” Taylor, who I introduced to you in my board and batten bath remodel, to help him build it.
Which, translated means: Will built it and Bama Boy “assisted.”
But, regardless of who actually built the window seat, I now have one…and I am one happy gal!
Several of you asked if I would be sharing details on how we built it. Since, I was not actually involved in the step by step building, I will show you lots of pictures. Hopefully they will give you a good idea on how this was built.
First step was framing out the actual seat.
Will measuring out the frame. Everyone needs a Will for a neighbor!
The bay is about 8ish feet long. We used 2X4’s to make the frame. I think it took about six.
It didn’t take long to imagine what the window seat was going to look like!
Now we were dealing with two issues with the location of the window seat. Can you guess what they are? I’m sure you see them. Yep, a vent and an outlet. Here’s what we did. First, we left the outlet in tact but put the back support above it. That way I can still access it if I need it. The vent required some thought.
So, here’s how we solved the dilemma. We constructed a box out of plywood that directed the airflow to the front of the window seat. The sides and top were glued and nailed, for a tight fit and then caulked. This would prevent any loss of heat or air from the vent into the window seat, and would keep a nice flow out the front into the room. A perfect solution! So, if you have nixed the idea of a window seat because of a vent in the location, this solution should remove any hesitancy!
Now a window seat is a wonderful luxury, but storage is a necessity. I did not want a window seat if I could not take advantage of the space underneath for storage. Enter the window seat door.
attaching piano hinge
We used a nice piece of birch to construct the window seat. We measured the space between the 2X4 braces and the boys cut a door out of the plywood. Then we attached the longest piano hinge we could find. You can purchase these at Lowes or Home Depot. This hinge was the perfect length, but if you find it’s a little long for your window seat door it can be cut to fit.
Attaching the hinge properly takes a little bit of effort and will take more than one person. It will also be a little “tight” for awhile, which is why there is a gap between the door and the sides, but will loosen up over time (and with bottoms sitting on it. grin)
Next you will need to decide what you want to “face” the front with. You can choose a nice piece of plywood and built boxes along the front. I’ve seen these online. But since we are trying to achieve a french farmhouse look, we used beadboard. You will need to cut the sheets to fit and then apply construction adhesive to the support braces.
You will want to make sure that you cut a hole in your beadboard paneling to allow the vent cover to fit in snugly but still be removable to vacuum out the vent box as needed. The left panel fit right to the edge of where the cover would be, but we did jigsaw out the right side panel to accommodate the other side of the vent cover.
Don’t worry about seams. Caulk is your friend!
After your window seat is constructed. You will need to add baseboard to run along the front of your window seat as well as nice trim to finish off all of the edges.
We chose a beaded trim that is used for screen doors. It was nice and flat and the perfect size to run along the front of the actual seat as well as along the back of the seat by the wall which covered up any gaps and imperfections due to the walls not being perfectly straight..imagine that! 😉
Here is the trim painted, but still not caulked along the back. Make sure that you caulk all visible gaps as a final step to building your window seat. This will give it a nice finished professional look. And the moment I know you all have been waiting for. You have been waiting haven’t you? Or did you scroll down already? grin
I just love it! I can’t wait to get all of the pillows on it. We are going to leave the seat uncovered for now, since we realized that our dogs would be up here quite often….the muddy footprints on it already were a good indication of this. So for now, it won’t have a seat cushion but I will have lots of pillows to snuggle up with and to rest against while eating. I can’t wait to share more pictures of it with you when the kitchen is complete.
Now, we’re onto Stage Three..painting the cabinets!
Update:
Here are links to the kitchen makeover! You can also see my kitchen makeover featured in Better Homes and Gardens.
Oh man looks like a big project! Good luck! Can’t wait to see how your kitchen turns out! 🙂
That is so completely awesome – i LOVE CAS!!! I can’t wait to hear from her and see what she picks out from my store. Thanks again and have a great week.
xoxo,
Kim
Wow…what an undertaking. I love the window seat. Can’t wait to see it “all dressed up”. I also can’t wait to see how those cabinets come out. I bet it’s going to be amazing.
It looks great! My husband built one in our old house and I LOVED sitting on it. I’m sure you will love it, especially in the kitchen.
Congratulations to CAS!
Have a great day.
Pam
awesome window seat! I always wanted a window seat in our old house that a bay window just like this… no window anymore, but I still love the window seat! 🙂 Those cabinet fronts are bringing back memories of our kitchen redo…. have lots of time and lots of wine – LOL
Hey Heather…you are a brave girl hopping from one project right into another. Can’t wait to see your cabinets.I don’t think there is anything more cozy than a window seat. Well done! Have a great week… ~Ann
Before I forget: Congrats to the winner!
Now, about the window seat. I love it. I’m such a huge fan of them. We have them in dormer windows upstairs but I’ve always like the look of one in a kitchen.
I can not tell you how much I’m looking forward to the next phase of painting cabinets. Don’t hold anything back. If I can ever get that far with mine, I might paint them. (Saving for a new counter top first. The color I would paint them would not look good with our current blah counter.)
Oh it looks wonderful! I cant’ wait to show the hubby and start begging….
Crazy awesome window seat! I totally want one now!
After going through painting my kitchen, I’ll totally pray for you! You’ll get through it and be SOOOOO glad you did it. I basically stood and stared at my kitchen for a full week afterwards 😀
Shelley
So lovely! We have a window seat and we LOVE it! It looks great! I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my “featured” button.
Well, first off, congrats to Kim for winning the give-away!
Secondly- WOW! Love it-I have a window seat in our dinette area and we absolutely love it. AND SweetCheeks uses it as a “stage” for her American Idol performances…no surprise there, huh?
You did a great job and I know how are feeling about painting those cabinets…that is an awful job…but just think how great it will be when it is done! AMEN!! xxoo Diana
Love it! I also love the view out your window, so pretty! One of my favorite parts was your vent, so ornate, was that original or did you buy that somewhere? Cause let me tell you, the stores by me aren’t selling cute vents like that. Can’t wait to see the rest of the kitchen, hang in there through the cabinet painting and just think of all the money you are saving!! 😉
How exciting! You had the perfect window for that too. Can’t wait to see it all finished.
The window seat looks great! My husband built a similar one for my in-laws for Christmas. It’s a lot of work but they are so fun! Looking forward to the cabinets!
You’re really going to enjoy your window seat, Heather! And that view! Oh, my! You are so fortunate! That is beautiful!
What fun to have a window seat! Can’t wait to see your kitchen cabinets:)
Way to go, girl- you got your window seat! Looks good. I had to convince a client that a framed out vent box really would work for her similar situation. She just wouldn’t believe me. Oh ye of little faith…. The contractor did virtually the same thing your pal Will did, only her guy used galvanized metal like the AC guys do. I don’t envy you the paint job for your cabinets. I am contemplating it, but will probably hire it out to the same girl that glazed them for me once before. I hate painting…. Have fun!
Sue
Heather it is beautiful!! I have always wanted a window seat but no such luck here. Your backyard is gorgeous and I love your pergola! Have fun sipping coffee and watching all go by while you bask in the warmth of the sun. 🙂 Or at least it is a great break spot from painting cabinets. 🙂 Can’t wait to see!
Congrats to the winner!
Great construction project, and some excellent tips as well.
We have a window upstairs we have been wanting to do this too! Thanks for the great photo tutuorial! I love picutres more then words 🙂 hee hee
XO
Kristin
I’m lovin your window seat..they did a fabulous job on it.
Repainting cabinets and walls in a kitchen is SOOO much work…but sooo worth it, in the end. Speaking of ends…it’s perfectly ok to admire the *end* of our hubby…:)))
xo bj
Heather, that looks GREAT! Extra seating is always a great thing!! Christie at Three Pixie Lane
Love your window seat- and your kitchen project is looking exciting!! Can’t wait to see how the open cupboards came out (if you decided to keep them that is) Hugs, Courtney
Cool…you’re my first link of the night. Thanks for sharing this awesome post at the party.
It looks great! I love the vent…way to dress something up that you have to have, right? Great tutorial!
I can’t wait to see your kitchen cabinet redo. I have the exact same cabinets and psyching myself up to tackle them…someday. I am looking forward to hearing about the process and hearing what it was like DOING and LIVING in the process!
Beautiful! I wish I had a bay window so I could have a window seat too!
I love your blog – check mine out if you like!
I’m loving the window seat, so cozy! My husband and I painted and glazed our builders grade cabinets last spring. It was a big project & a lot of dust, but so worth it! Cant wait to see your transformation!
Warm Wishes,
Jodie
Oh, Heather, it’s quite, quite lovely. I love those cushions…and extra storage is always a HUGE bonus, isn’t it? I’m always astonished at how much ‘stuff’ we have to store that we need in our everyday lives. A lovely window seat like yours would be a perfect solution.
Sarahx
This is so awesome, Heather!! Seriously can’t wait to see how it turns out. We have a bay window in our kitchen, too….this is making me think! ; )
LOVE it!!
{HUGS},
kristi
https://ishouldbemoppingthefloor.blogspot.com
What a great way to solve the furnace vent problem. I would love a window seat so I took careful note of how you did it. It’s going to look gorgeous with the cushions on it.
wow I love window seats – the are so cosy
congrats and good luck with the kitchen 😀
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