Adding Character to a Room with a Window Seat

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There is something charming about having a window seat in a room. Aside from creating additional seating, it looks great and adds additional storage to the room as well. It also creates a cozy place to settle in on a rainy afternoon with a good book, or it offers a place to just daydream. Many older homes had these little nooks built in, but you do not find them in new homes as often. So if you have always wanted to have a window seat in your home, here are a few easy ways to build one that looks like a custom made feature.

Selecting a Design

There are lots of ways that you can go about building a window seat. These are charming bench designs with built in storage. You can go online and find patterns and plans, and you can also build a charming window seat using stock, kitchen cabinets, which look great and provide lots of organized storage space. You can also find pre-made storage benches that you can incorporate into your design, or you can build your own from scratch. Matching wall art decor on either side of the bench, such as tranquil metal fish sculptures, can frame your new window seat with color and style.

Creating your Own Design

The ideal spot for a window seat is in a recessed window, so if you have a spot like this in your home, you can fashion a window seat to fit into the space. By adding a box with a hinged top and a couple of cushions, you add tons of charm to your room. If you are not adept at woodworking, you may want to buy a storage bench that is as close to your measurements as possible, and then simply fill in around the edges to make it fit seamlessly into the space. You can usually add a few strips of wood to transition the bench to your wall, or sometimes simply adding molding to the edge of your bench is all that you need to do to cover the gap. So use your imagination and see what works the best for your individual space.

Clever Cabinet Seat

One of the more clever ways to install a window seat in your home is to choose the window that you want to add your seating area to, and then find a bank of stock, kitchen cabinets. The cabinets are generally finished and ready to install, so there is no assembly or finishing required. To create the effect of custom built window seats, select a section of short kitchen cabinets for the seating area of your window seat. Then flank this section of cabinets with taller cabinets to cover the entire expanse of the wall. The row of cabinets with the 'bench' in the middle will look like they were custom built for the space. Then simply add square cushions that you can find in the patio furniture section of your home store, and your custom window seat is complete.