My dad and I recently went to Virginia to work on a basement remodel project!! Our clients had an awkward nook and wanted us to recreate it so they could use it as a reading nook for their little girls. We didn’t have a lot of time for the bench project so I came up with a little hack to speed things up!
Here’s the bench I designed for our clients in my home designer program.
They started with an awkward railing in this space. We could’ve built a wall to close off the space completely, but the owners wanted to make this a half wall so that they could see into the kids play area.
TOOLS
| Miter Saw or Circle Saw |
| Tape Measure |
| Speed Square |
| Kreg Jig w/ drill bit |
| 1 1/4″ Pocket screws |
| 2″ Wood screws |
| Cordless Drill |
| Nailer with 1 1/4″ Brad Nails |
| Wood Glue |
| Wood Filler |
| Putty Knife |
| Hand Sander |
| Sanding Paper |
| Paint |
| Paint supplies |
LUMBER LIST
| 2″ x 6″ (Base) |
| 3/4″ Plywood (Bench top and side boxes) |
| Base trim |
| 36″W x 15″H x 12″D Kitchen cabinets (2) |
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STEP 1: Gather Tools & Lumber
See the lumber and tool list that I provided above. Your space likely won’t be the exact dimensions as ours so I will leave out the exact lumber dimensions.
Instead of custom building the entire bench, I came up with the idea to use these kitchen cabinets to speed up the project! These are standard wall cabinets that typically go above a fridge. We used two 36″W x 15″H x 12″D cabinets. They turned out to be very sturdy and perfect for our bench project!
STEP 2: Build base for cabinets
In order to get the height we wanted for the bench, we had to build a base out of 2×6’s. We made the width of this base the same width as the two cabinets (about 72″). We made the base deeper than the cabinets though. Our cabinets are only 12″ deep and we made the base 18″ deep. We centered the base and secured it with screws to the back wall and the floor.
STEP 3: Install cabinets
We placed the cabinets on the base so that it is flush with the front and the sides of the base. We had a gap between the cabinets and the back wall but you won’t see that once the plywood top is installed. We wanted our bench to be deeper than the actual cabinets so there’s enough room to sit with some pillows.
STEP 4: Install plywood boxes
We built a box out of plywood for the left and right spaces. You can make these boxes the same height or taller than the bench like we did. We wanted to have a higher platform on the left and right side where our clients could put some books or a lamp. We also made the boxes deeper than the bench to give it some added dimension!
STEP 5: Install plywood top
Next, we cut a piece of 3/4″ plywood to fit the top of the bench. We left about a 1″ overhang on the front side so that the cabinet doors are flush with the bench top.
STEP 6: Install base trim
Install trim using a brad nailer and brad nails. We used the same base trim for the bench as the rest of the basement!
STEP 7: Fill nail holes and caulk seams
Use wood filler to fill in any nail holes or gouges in the wood. Next, use paintable caulk to fill all gaps and seams in the wood.
STEP 8: Sand
Sand down all of the plywood pieces and sand the places that you used wood filler so it’s nice and smooth.
STEP 9: Paint!
We decided to paint the trim and the plywood tops all white. The cabinets we painted the same color as the wall.
STEP 10: Put doors back on
Finally, re install the cabinet doors and add some fun door hardware if you’d like to!
Our clients ordered a custom bench cushion, some fun pillows and a few lamps to complete the space! More pictures to come!
