Window Seat

This customer wanted a window seat in her kitchen that would have soft lines and be inviting to sit on. It would have to provide storage under the entire seating area. It would become the sill for the windows above, and would match the cabinets I had built for them the year or so before.

I built the exposed portions with cherry plywood, cherry lumber, and cherry veneer for the radiused corners. The three hinged storage access doors are on piano hinges and are raised with the aid of finger holes since pulls might be uncomfortable. I built a raised seat edge moulding around the seat to keep the cushions in place.

The seat was tied into the floor by continuing the 3/4 in ash quarterround around the unit from wall to wall.

When the customer had the ash flooring installed they had me leave the baseboard off until the window seat was installed. That’s to explain the contrast between the base and the floor which had begun to develop it’s patina.

I like to stain all the cherry pieces I build to give them a patina of at least year old. I do this to make them look good from the start and prevent sun bleaching. Also, it’s kind of a “what you see is what you get”. No one gets disapointed because the wood changes color or changes differently from room to room based on it’s exposure to light. The topcoat was sprayed acrylic lacquer over vinyl sealer.

Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed building them.

-- Tom Landon, Lakeland, Fl. When you're through learning, you're through.