Building A Window Seat Over A Vent

A window seat can make a quaint and cozy addition to any room in your home.

Building a window seat over a vent.

I do want to caution you against building over a vent. Fill the top screw holes with wood putty and sand smooth if the top is to be painted. Screw the top into place. You can easily build your own unique window seat using ready made floating cabinet units as a base.

As attractive as window seats are only a few older homes with deep dormers seem to have them. First we removed all the floor moldings since we will no longer need those. Building a window seat with storage in a bay window. We used 2 screws per stud.

You can see from the drawing that a window seat is actually a short floating wall achored to 2x4 cleats on the wall. The front can be wood sheetrock or other materials since it is only decorative. The top will not hang over the back of the window bench. Then the seat has to be custom built by a cabinetmaker or trim carpenter to fit the exact width and sill height of the window.

When you attach the 2 x 4s to the wall always make sure to screw into the studs for maximum support. Just choose a window with a pleasant view build a frame for. The top seat of the window bench will overhang both sides and the front by 2 inches. We have a bookcase that was built over the register and the wood inside grew mold because there wasn t enough force to blow the air and moisture out the front of the bookcase.

The height they recommend is 19 with a 21 deep seat. And adding a window seat has always been considered impractical. This allows you to devote more time to painting your window seat attaching stylish cabinet pulls and adding a seat cushion. A diy window seat with storage is a fantastic budget friendly way to transform a boring window wall into a beautiful focal point.

Just a warning don t take the easy way out. As you can see we have a floor air vent in the nook area. Then we started building the window seat by building the floor frame first. Measure and cut the sanded plywood to accommodate this overhang.

Available by order or in stock at many home centers wall cabinets make this job largely about assembly rather than about building cabinetry from scratch.