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How To Make A Window Seat With Drawers Below

March 13th, 2011 Leave a comment Go to comments

Making Window Seating Area With Drawers Underneith
How you make the support structure for a window seat area can be different depending upon how the storage will be accessed. If you are fabricating a seating area with a lift-lid or pull-out drawers there is no rule of thumb. I like to make them using the same tools and materials that I use to fabricate kitchen cabinets out of. If the bench seat is located near the kitchen then you should consider building it to match your cupboard’s design.




What is the standard height of a window seat?

They should be made the same height as a dining room chair, desk chair or couch. These vary from seventeen inches (17″) in height to twenty inches (20″) in height.

What size should the decorative drawers be for underneath the seat?

Obviously the width of the drawers will be determined by the length of the seating area. A good height for the drawers is going to be in the neighborhood of ten (10″) to twelve inches (12″). The photo above looks like the toe kick is about three inches (3″) high, the drawers are ten inches (10″), window seat cushion is six inches (6″) and the decorative molding ledge is two inches (2″) high. These measurements add up to twenty one inches (21″) for the overall height of the window seating area.

You can special order raised panel fronts to match your kitchen cabinets form several different places. The first place to begin is by trying to get them from your kitchen cabinet manufacturer.

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If you are building with nothing to model, then refer to this article about Cabinet Doors Price Ranges.

Building The Toe Kick For A Window Seat
This bottom support can be fabricated out of plywood or two-by-four (2 x 4) material. Do not use particleboard or MDF board. Plan the design of your kick area to be recessed from the face of the window seat. You can make it flush, but it will just be an irritating obstruction for your feet. You must install this bottom support level. Refer to this article for Installing Cabinets Level.

The drawer sections for the window seat can be built as individual boxes or as one unit. How you fabricate the cabinets for the window seat will be determined by the size and layout of the walls. If you are dealing with angled walls then you will have several cabinets and fillers.

The Construction Of the Drawer Box Case
The window seat drawer boxes should be built out of plywood. The cabinets should have two sides a bottom, back and rails at the top that are three inches wide. If your window seat cabinet design has a face-frame then build one to match the kitchen.

Refer to this article for how to figure drawer sizes.  There are many different kinds of drawer sliders on the market. Each brand and style has individualized specifications for making them operate smoothly.

Make a separate piece of plywood that rests on top of the drawer boxes that you will attach the ledger molding on that will restrict the cushions from falling off of the plywood support.

It is going to be necessary to add fillers where the drawer boxes meet the walls. The standard filler size ranges from one to three inches in width.

All of the exterior doors and moldings should be able to be finished prior to installing them. As previously mentioned, there are many various ways of building a window seat. You may decide that you would rather install everything first and then stain or paint the seating area.

How you build yours will depend on the design of your window seat with drawers underneath, the level of carpentry skill you possess and the tools you own. Just make sure you keep the main thing the main thing, have fun while you are learning how to make a window seat to match your kitchen cabinets.

Categories: Working With Drawers
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