People always think that in order to get a custom look you have to hire a professional carpenter or pay a lot of money to have custom pieces built. What if you could build a window seat using stock cabinets and a few trim pieces, even if you are a novice DYI homeowner? Well..... I am going to show you how. Using cabinets that you could buy at any home improvement store or website, we are going to build a custom window seat in a few easy steps. In this example, I am going to a line of (RTA) Ready-To-Assemble cabinets from an on-line distributor called RTA Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinet Store. For this project we will be using 3 or 4 of their Heritage Honey Maple 24" deep double door cabinets (which would normally be used about the refrigerator). The item number is GW362424HHSM if you want to use the same pieces.

Here are the steps to follow to build a window seat for your house (adjust the cabinet size to fit your space). If the space that you are building the window seat in is bigger than cabinets, don't worry... you can use filler pieces to accomodate the space.

1. Use 2x lumber ripped to size to construct a 4-inch-tall, U-shaped platform on which the two-door center and side cabinets will sit. Secure the platform to the floor by driving screws at an angle through its outer framing.

2. Arrange the center cabinets side by side on the platform and drive 2-inch wood screws through their adjoining side panels. Then align the end cabinets corner to corner with the center ones. Depending upon the size of your space, you can remove one of the cabinet doors on each side to use the cabinet like a blind cabinet with the open space hidden along the side of the center cabinet(s). Make room for the doors to open where the cabinets intersect by screwing 3-inch filler strips to the center cabinets' face frames. Then secure the end cabinets directly to the filler strips, using 21⁄2-inch wood screws.

3. Anchor the entire unit to the back wall by driving 2-inch deck screws through the cabinets' rear panels, making sure to sink the screws in studs.

4. Hide the platform with toekick molding secured with 1-inch finish nails. For a truly custom look, attach filler boards and decorative panels that mimic the look of cabinet doors, using 2-inch finish screws fastened from inside the end cabinets.

5. Fasten wood cleats to the wall in the open corners to support the top which can be made of plywood or you can cut down the refrigerator panels that RTA Cabinet Store stocks to fit the size of your window seat. Secure the center panel to the cleats and the side panels to the end cabinets below using 1 ½-inch wood screws. Add a custom cushion, and you are ready to start using your new window seat.

For more information about the cabinets we used or for other kitchen articles including cabinet installation, cabinet selection, or cabinet refacing. Go to RTA Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinet Store.