# Kitchen bench



## Greenie (Jan 28, 2012)

Hello all...first time posting here and looking for some tips advice and suggestions.

I have a space in my kitchen that is small (dimensions to come) that needs a better seating arrangement for family meals. Right now we have an old circular table that doesn't function well. I aw thinking of building a window bench to go along the wall and under the windowsill and making it into an "L" shaped bench and possibly getting a rectangular shaped table. 


I would loved some thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and plans if you have any. I'm new here and to the DIY world But I think with the right tools and good advice/plans I can make whatever I need to function better for this area. 


I made a few shelving units for storage in the garage as well as a closet for storage in the garage. This would be the first piece I built for IN the house. And well.... I'm sure the wife would appreciate some thought into the appearance of it. We have a modern kitchen so I wouldn't want this bench idea to throw the kitchen off and back into the 70's. So would need a modern feel to it. We have dark wood floors (almost black) and light colored walls and white cabinets. 


The wall space I have to work with is roughly 70 1/2" long and then the "L" portion could be another 39" down and both I think should be roughly 18" deep and an average chair height for seating. 


I appreciate any and all suggestions and tips and plans and look forward to starting this project!!


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Not to put you off, but if you Google "breakfast nook" or "kitchen booth", you'll see many sites, with some offering plans. Furthermore, if you click "images" there will be many displayed for you to get a better idea of what you're looking for.

If you decide on a boxed out base for the seating you can have some storage. As for seating height, a comfortable height would be 18", so keep that in mind as to whether you will want seat cushions or not.











 







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## Greenie (Jan 28, 2012)

I will google for ideas as well. And not putting me off. I need tips. Also yes. Will need a seat and back cushion for comfort. Want family dinners to be comfortable and not burdensome I like the box idea but also the two things wife asked for besides look is comfortablity for sitting and didn't want that constant kicking the wood with feet because no place for feet to fall and rest comfortably without knocking the base of the bench.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Greenie said:


> I will google for ideas as well. And not putting me off. I need tips. Also yes. Will need a seat and back cushion for comfort. Want family dinners to be comfortable and not burdensome I like the box idea but also the two things wife asked for besides look is comfortablity for sitting and didn't want that constant kicking the wood with feet because no place for feet to fall and rest comfortably without knocking the base of the bench.


Your seat height with a cushion should be about 18", so figuring the top of the bench height should be to allow that. As for the feet kicking the front panel of the bench, the seat is the same height as a dining chair, so however much movement you have there will be the same.

You could recess on an angle the front of the bench, as shown in this drawing. It shows an alternative to a straight front.










 







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## Greenie (Jan 28, 2012)

Yes the angel would help. The diff between a chair and the bench as I envision is the obvious one has an opening and the other a flat board. Lol. Though the angel does seem to alleviate some of that issue.


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## MacDuffee (Jan 29, 2012)

I just built something like this for our dining room. I just made a 2X4 frame at the height I needed and used luan as the skin and pine boards for the top and my wife painted it the color she wanted. It was very basic and easy. Hardest part was moving the electrical plugs from the wall to to the outside of the base. We really like it and as a result I am now building a new table since the legs on the current table are on the corners it is hard to get in and out of the seat. The kids don't really mind though:thumbsup:

type "window seat" in You Tube and you can see alot of examples


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