Barefoot Stamp: Movable Window Seats

Are you looking for storage ideas?
Do you want to take this project with you when you move?
Is cheaper the better?
Quick and Easy to make?

I put together a simple movable window seat to store our coffee table books and entertaining media. I gained precious storage and seating without loosing much space.

Tools used:

Kreg Jig
Kreg shelf pin Jig
Miter saw
Band saw (a jig saw will work too)
Table saw for ripping bottom shelves (I used the band saw instead)
Cordless brad nailer
Orbital sander
Drill
Level
Clamps
Measuring tape

List of materials:

MDF 12"x96" (3 total) -$33
10 feet Chair rail molding -$7
10 feet Baseboard - $8
Kreg Jig's 1 and 1/4 inch soft wood screws -$6
Putty - already had
Sand paper - already had
Glossy and other Paint - already had
Pocket hole caps -$7
Shelf pins - already had
Thin Fiberboard backing $10

Directions:

We have 2 (35" wide) windows on either side of our fireplace.
To fit the windows and use minimal space, our seats need to be 35" wide x 12 "deep x 20.5" high
I chose to purchase MDF for this project for its sturdiness and price.

Measure twice and cut each board with the miter saw

Part 1. Cutting and drilling

1 board was cut into two 35 inch pieces (for 2 tops) and one 19.75 piece (for 1 side) - pic A and B
1 board was cut into three 19.75 inch and one 33.5 inch pieces (for 3 sides and one shelf) - pic B and D
1 board was cut into two 33.5 inch pieces (for 2 bottoms) - pic C

pic A

pic B

pic C

pic D

pic E

With a pencil, mark the outside of each side board piece (there are 4 of them) and using your kreg jig, drill pocket holes on the inside of the boards about 2 to 2 and a half inches apart. (E)

Drill pocket holes on the right and left side of both bottom pieces. (E)

pic F

I want the window seats to be flush against the wall. Cutting a small opening at the bottom of each side piece is necessary to accommodate the wall baseboard, shoe molding and electrical cords. The bottom is the opposite side to where you drilled your pocket holes.
Measure and cut using a band saw or a jig saw. (F)
Doing so, will require you to rip your bottom pieces/shelf to fit the window seats width at the bottom. See pic C above.
I had to rip out 1.5 inches off both bottom shelves with my band saw with fence as a guide.

pic G

Use your Kreg shelf pin Jig to drill holes on the inside of each side piece so you can secure one or more shelves with pins. (G)

Part 2: Assembly and cosmetics

Assemble the sides to the top piece first using your Kreg Jig drill bit and screws and assemble the bottom pieces using a level. (Sorry no pictures here. I do not have a tripod and cannot assemble and take pictures at the same time. Bummer.)

To give each window seat more support, I screwed the pieces I ripped off the bottom shelves to the back and top of the window seat using the Kreg Jig kit.

Cut your chair railing and baseboard at a 45 degree angle to fit the top and bottom of your window seats and nail them using your brad nailer

Putty the nail holes and imperfections

Part 3: Sand, paint and add backing

Sand with 150 grade sandpaper using your orbital sander.

Prime and paint with the color of your choice. I used what I had on hand (exterior white paint) and let dry.
With a sand block, lightly sand over the dried paint and paint two more coats of paint. This time I used glossy paint to match my baseboard paint.
Nail a piece of fiberboard to the back of the window seat as pictures above.