Window Seat Finished

Can you tell I'm sitting in a hotel with nothing to do? I just looked at Flickr and saw my latest photo uploads, so I decided to blog them.

When I started this blog I meant to chronicle the building of my house, but it seems so far away that it just doesn't seem relevant. But I have lots of little projects that I want to do and I can blog them as I finish them.

The house has two dormer windows in the front. One is just open to the living room, but the other is open to the loft. The area is so small it really isn't useful, so I decided to build a window seat there that will double as a storage chest.

Before the project began this is what I had. This is actually the window open to the living room, but I didn't take before photos. I haven't decided yet what to do with this window, but it does need something.

This is the completed window seat. The cushion hides a handle and a zipper hinge which provides access to the storage space underneath.

When I went to buy foam to make a cushion, I found out that the only width I could get was 24 inches. That wasn't enough to cover the handle and hinges, so I decided to build the cubbyholes behind the cushion. They hold books, quilt blocks in process, notepads and pencils.

The face and cubbyholes are cedar to match the handrails and newel posts on the staircase. The only change I need to make is to take off the baseboard and replace it with a step. You have to jump to get on the seat.

My youngest daughter uses this space to curl up and read. I usually use it to make to-do lists or to draw out my next project and make materials lists.

The next project will be to add book cases on either side of the window seat. Maybe then I can get all my books out of boxes.