Back when I was pregnant with Lillie and before I even knew what a blog was I decided to build a little window seat in the nook area of what was going to be Lillie's nursery. It has held up pretty well for almost four years now but a couple of weeks ago one the brackets started to get a little loose. When I went in to fix it I decided to pull the whole seat apart and take step by step photos of how I made it. These days, if I wanted to do a project like this I probably would have searched on Pinterest and some blogs for an idea of how to make a window seat, but back then I just kind of made it up as I went (actually, I suppose I still do that alot now too). I didn't have any power tools so I knew that it would have to be quite easy. I also wanted to make it so that we could use the underneath part for storage while Lillie was a baby and I hoped that eventually that area underneath would turn into a little "fort" or "secret hideout" for her once she was older. Well, I can't tell you how much time she spends under there now! And Lola loves crawling under there too. And pretty much everyone that has entered our house at some point gets stuck crawling under there and playing. We had some of the basketball players over last week and after they left Lillie was quite dismayed when she realized that she had forgotten to see if any of them could fit under there! (Although, it is roomier than you would think, I am going to go ahead and pretty confidently guess that they couldn't!)
So, here is how you start.
1). Screw four of these brackets into the wall. Each bracket required three screws and I used very large screws with wall anchors. Make sure they are all at the same height.
2). Now get a piece of wood or MDF that is nice and sturdy. I purchased this piece below at Lowe's where they will cut it to the exact size you need for free.
3). Now just plop that wood into place on top of the brackets and use a glue gun to attach some ribbon or trim to the edge. I used a grosgrain ribbon. (Or you can use a piece of wood trim, which is what I used originally but when Lillie was learning to pull herself up she repeatedly pulled it off so I gave up and just ended up glue gunning a ribbon on temporarily and then never got around to switching it, and at this point I doubt I ever will.) =)
4). Next purchase a big piece of foam. I wish I had gotten a thicker piece but I went the super cheap route and got one that has driven me crazy ever since because of how thin it is. The piece I purchased didn't come wide enough so I used a glue gun to attach two pieces to make it the right size. It's been four years since I did this, but I think I just used a large kitchen knife to cut the foam. Then wrap your foam in the fabric you want to use. Again, I was cutting costs and bought just barely enough to fit around my foam. If I were doing it over I would recommend getting more fabric to cover the whole thing!
5). Next just set the cushion on top of your piece of wood.
6). Now it's time for the skirt. Just use a simple tension rod and place it directly below the piece of wood and place it high enough that the ribbon hangs down over it and hides it.
7). Then just make a little curtain. You can use a glue gun to flip it over so it makes a little pocket to slide onto the tension rod and glue some trim on the bottom. Or you can sew it. Either was it's a pretty quick project since it's just a basic straight line either with glue or thread.
Now just throw some pillows on and there you have it!
Lillie was not too thrilled when I asked her to pop her head out so I could snap a picture of her and Chloe playing in their little hideout.
Unfortunately, the nook has not been looking quite as pretty lately. It has become the home of Lillie's lovely flamingo. We have gotten asked a few times where we were going to put it. Well, after a couple of days taking over one of the twin beds in Lillie's room we moved it over the window seat and I am afraid that's probably where it's going to stay for a while...
I hope you all are having a fabulous Monday!
