We decided to make a seating bench in our eat in kitchen. I did a post about my desire to have a bench and in the reader comments, Vez, a fellow home blogger, reminded me that Samantha Pynn had recently done a project using Ikea cabinets to make a bench. That was the inspiration that made this project actually happen. (A nice reminder that I should post my dilemas on this blog, as the readers always seem to have the right answers) Here is how you too can make one.
Step 1: BUILDING THE BASE
(A) Get Ikea Cabinets (Lidingo Kitchen Cabinets, (34" Deep, 15" High) Ikea)
We bought 3 Ikea Upper Cabinets to fit our 96" space. We brought in our dimensions to Ikea, and they helped us pick the right cabinet widths. There are 2 sizes of cabinets the layout. The middle is slightly wider. I'll be honest....It wasn't inexpensive to buy the cabinets. But the convinience of building them, and the extra storage this created, was well worth it.
(B) Raise the cabinets off the ground
We raised the cabinets off the ground using long planks of wood. One 96" lengh at the front, and one 96" lengh at the back, like a train track. This is so that the doors could actually open. If we hadn't done this, the doors would scrape on the floor. We also did this to allow for air flow, as at the very right hand size of the bench, there is an air vent....and we weren't going to move that!
(Kitchen Bench, before cushion)
Step 2: CUSHION
- We added a 4" foam cushion not only for comfort, but to bring the bench up to the right height needed for a table. (The right height is 18" -18.5" for a seat bench).
- My Mom and I went down to Designer Fabrics here in Toronto to find the fabric for the bench. We needed A LOT of fabric. It's 8 feet long, and we did it double sided so incase a spill happens, we can "flip" the cushion. So there is no bad side.
- When Mom was making the bench cushion, she decided to wrap the cushion in dacron for some added plushness.
My Mom also made me a back cushion in the matching fabric by taking 6 standard pillows that we're on sale for 50% off, and using the filler to create one long pillow. Shes a genius.
Above: Our Cushion, made my by my Mom
And....
Above: Our new kitchen bench
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UPDATE
I ended up really not loving the pink & red fabric so I ended up re-doing the bench cushion. (Here is the post as to why I ended up not loving it) But below is the new and improved version of the bench! LOVE IT! here are the updated photos.
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Ps., A little history....Why a kitchen bench?
For the last 20 years I had eaten my meals on a bench at my parents house. It was comfy to me, and just made a house a home. Below is a picture of my first bench...How awesome is this bench that we got to eat at for our childhood!! (I used to eat on the BLUE seat)
(Bench at my parents house, picture when they bought the house)
That bench stayed there until a few years ago, until when my parents renovated. We were sad to see the rainbow bench go, but thankfully, the kitchen bench just got "updated"..... not removed. :)
(Post reno, a kitchen bench is still there for me to sit at)
Resource List
New Chandelier - Hampton Bay, from Home Depot $139 View Online
Bench Cabinets - Lidingo Kitchen Cabinets, (34" Deep, 15" High) Ikea
Fabric + piping for the bench - Designer Fabrics
Inspiration for the Cabinet Bench, Pure Design with Samantha Pynn. Click here for episode
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