Sunday, January 15, 2017

DIY- Dress up a Window Seat For Under $30

I'm so excited to share this post with you all because I've been wanting to fix up our bay window seat for the longest time!

This was so easy, inexpensive, and had a huge impact on the look and feel of the entire room!  What can be better than that?!



From start to finish, the entire process took less than a day.  If it wasn't for the drying time after painting, it would've been completed in an afternoon.  How awesome is that?

When we first purchased our home 2 years ago, this is what the window seat looked like:


Before we moved in, we painted our entire house and this window got a few coats of primer and white paint and some new material. We also scraped down the popcorn on the ceiling of the bench and patched any holes and fixed all of the blemishes.

Here's what it looked like after all that was completed:

While it was a lot better than what it was, I thought it didn't really stand out.  So we decided to up our game and try again!

This time we opted for a dark cushion and we installed some trim and boards on the bottom wall.  We absolutely love the way it turned out!  



To me, it looks so much more custom and clean. It also looks so much fresher and more modern to me, too!



Supplies I used:


  • 3/4" quarter round
  • (2) 8 foot 1x4"
  • (1) 8 foot 1x2"
  • Semi Gloss White Paint
  • Paintable White Caulk
  • Nail Gun
Instructions:

First off, I've learned that it's much easier to tape off your wall and paint first.  Made for less cutting and easier rolling.

We taped off the material and taped off the wall making our paint line in the middle of where the 1x4" would be nailed to the wall.  Side Note:  I'm sorry about the dark night time phone pictures.  I decided to blog this very last minute.  I promise to bring you better pictures in future posts.  ðŸ˜€



We painted the wall and let it dry for a few hours.  ( I didn't take a picture of that step because I forgot).  Sorry!  :)

Next, we installed the quarter round above our existing trim (flat side facing up) to give the boards something to sit flush with.  We used a brad nail gun ( finish nail gun) for all the installation.  


Then we measured from the bottom of the bench seat to the quarter round and cut the 1x4" to that length.  Using a level, we then nailed the 1x4" to the wall.  We repeated the same steps on the other side.


Then we measured between the cut 1x4"s on the wall and cut the top 1x4" board to fit between.  Then we nailed it right underneath the bench seat to make it flush with the cushion.


  

Next, we measured from the cut 1x4"s on the wall right above the quarter round, and cut the 1x2" to that length.  Then we nailed it to the wall right above the quarter round.


Finally, we measured from the inside of the 1x4" on the left side to the right inside side of the 1x4 (which was 92 inches)  and divided that number by 4 putting our first board at 23 inches center.

Our second board was at 69 inches center.


The final step was to caulk all the seams and nail holes.  I taped off the bottom of the cushion to avoid any paint mistakes.



I painted it all and let it dry for a few hours between coats.  Took a total of three coats to get full coverage of the wood.

We removed the tape (after the final coat and while it was wet) and it was all finished and ready!


We absolutely love it!  And my husband has finally agreed to board and batten the rest of the wall.  Little projects like this make him see the light! Finally!

Cost Breakdown:
3/4" quarter round - $2.94
(2) 2x4" - $10.68
(1) 1x2" - $2.39
Paint - $0 --already had on hand
Caulk- $3.79
Material - $7.54 using a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby
TOTAL PRICE: $27.34




And that's it!  Fast, inexpensive, and super easy to complete!

Our finally makeover for this bench seat will be installing new white windows to complete the look.

We're so happy to have finished this project!  Now onto the next ........

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