We have a bench seat by the window in our playroom that is the perfect spot to sit and read a book! It also has plenty of places to store toys, which helps keep our playroom under control!
We actually built this bench seat a few years ago, before our children were even born. Today is the day I am finally writing about it!
I was inspired to make the bench seat after seeing this bench. I loved the colors and everything else about it, especially the storage! My husband and I basically followed these same steps to make ours.
In our playroom, we have a wall with a window in the center of it. Under the window seemed like the perfect place to put a bench seat.
To make the bench seat, we started with a Kallax shelf unit from IKEA for the base. I really like the simple shape of the Kallax shelf unit. The four cube sections also worked well for this space.
The next step was to make a cushion that we would be able to attach to the top of the base.
The supplies for the cushion seat included MDF, foam, fabric, and a staple gun. I also decided to use outdoor fabric. Since there were going to be little kids crawling all over it, I wanted to use a more durable fabric.
We bought the MDF at Home Depot and had them cut it at the store to the size we needed. In this case, we made it the same size as the top of the Kallax shelf unit.
After we got it home, we sanded the edges so it was nice and smooth. Then we cut a piece of 3 inch regular density foam the same size as the MDF piece.
I cut the fabric so that it was wider and longer than the size of the MDF and foam. This is so it could be wrapped around both the foam and the board.
After the fabric was cut, I ironed it out to make it as smooth as possible. Then the fun part began… stapling everything together! This was my favorite part because I was holding the stapler. For some reason, this part wasn’t as much fun for my husband. Maybe that was because he was holding everything in place for me while I had control of the staple gun!
To make the cushion, I spread the fabric out on the floor with the pattern facing down. Then I put the foam on top of that, followed by the MDF. Then my husband wrapped the fabric around the foam and board while I stapled everything in place. He wrapped the fabric in a similar way that he would wrap a present.
When the cushion was complete, we simply screwed it onto the top of the Kallax shelf unit. After adding some storage bins, the bench seat was complete.
In order to add some more storage to the playroom, we also put a shelf unit on each side of the bench. These shelves are part of the Hemnes series from IKEA.
Stay tuned to see how I organized the bench seat and shelves!
What kind of seating do you have in your playroom? Have you “hacked” any IKEA furniture? I would love to hear what you did in the comments below!
Have a great day!
♥Jena♥