How to build a Kitchen Nook Bench
I like to share with you “How to Build a Kitchen Nook Bench“, when your kitchen lacks seating. Therefore we decided to build a DIY breakfast nook.
The project was intimidating at first, but I can assure you that adding the bench to our dining area was a smart decision. We sold our home a few months later, and the nook was one of the selling points for sure.
But, today I like to show you how we put a kitchen nook bench together. I will be listing the items we used, as I go along with the tutorial. Enjoy!
Easy to build DIY breakfast nook
Instructions:
Step 1.
Build the frame, we used 12- 2×4’s to build the frame for a 12’x6′ bench.
- measure the area where your bench is going to be installed
- Make sure you choose a comfortable height for your bench
- cut your 2×4’s, and use a Kreg jig to make vertical holes for your screws
Step 2.
The next step was my favorite option for us. I decided to leave the baseboard at the bottom and work around it. This option seemed the best for us in case we would have to remove the kitchen nook bench down the road.
We attached a 3/4-inch thick board onto the wall, to close the gap. This board was also used to secure the bench to the wall.
- If you leave your baseboard on the wall, make sure to have some extra boards available to fill in the gap.
- Should you not have a baseboard, continue with securing the bench frame to the wall. I recommend using a few good screw hooks!
Step 3.
In this next step, I attached 3/4-inch plywood to the front and sides (your home improvement store will cut the wood for you).
- Measure the front and the sides of your bench frame
- Our baseboard was sticking out, so I cut the shape of it out with a table saw (leftover baseboard always comes in handy)
- We used 1 sheet of 3/4-inch plywood, and I had some scrap wood for the sides
- You also need some trim to give the bench a finished look
- I used white 3/4″x3″ trim
Step 4.
I used the trim to hide the ends. Cutting the trim at 45 degrees did the trick.
- Gorilla glue
- Nail gun
- Miter saw
- Electric sander
Step 5.
Painting the entire bench with 3-4 coats of paint + 1-2 coats of Sealer.
How to build bench seating?
Step 6.
Once the paint and sealer had fully dried, we attached the kitchen nook bench to the wall.
Measure the top. It is always important to measure again once the bench is installed. Our wall was slightly uneven, which threw off some of our previous numbers.
- 1 sheet of 3/4-inch plywood
- 3/4-inch paintable, Iron-on wood veneer
- Veneer cutter
- Iron
- Electric sander (sand the plywood before painting)
- Wood Filler
Step 7.
We also added an outlet to our kitchen nook bench, since I planned on working in this area. The only recommendations I have for this step is to add the outlet to the side instead to the top.
An outlet box can be found at your local home improvement store, and the extension as well. We just plugged the extension into the old existing outlet. And should you have HVAC vents, the Splendido Family can show you how to install those into a diy breakfast nook.
Step 8.
Attach the plywood with screws to the frame and fill in the holes with wood filler. But if you plan on adding a removable top, you could always add some hinges to your kitchen nook bench.
Step 9.
- Let wood filler dry 2-8h depending on the size and depth
- Sand
- Paint
- Add trim to the wall in order to hide gaps
Bench Breakfast Nook
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Turned out beautiful! What are the finished dimensions? Height/depth of benches and lengths of the two sides? We are hoping to build something similar. Thanks! Cori
Hi, Cori unfortunately, we sold the house, and I can’t remember if I had added the dimensions to one of my blog posts during the building process.
But I remember that I used my chairs hight for the bench, and the length was whatever filled our space.
You can go with a regular chair height and measure out your space for this project. Hope this helps!
Love this tutorial!! How much would you estimate to set aside for the kitchen nook budget?
I believe it was around $200 tools not included.
Do you have any ideas on how to add storage to this model?
I used baskets and bins, or you could also add another shelf in between the middle and the top.
Hope this helps?
Do you remember how long this took you to make?
I love how clear and simple your steps are!
That’s a good question. I believe we did it in 2-4 days.
Just started this myself. But how did you attach the frame to the anchor board on the wall?
I added pocket holes to the top board, see image
We have almost this same kitchen set up and I’m thinking of doing a bench under our windows on one wall. I’d like to do fluffy pillows all along the wall, but we have blinds like you do. I’d like for people to be able to lean back in their seats. Not quite sure how to get around this.
Hi Kelley,
I made a cushion for the kitchen nook with 4″ foam and sew a cover for it. I am not sure if I have an image of it somewhere. We also used pillows to lean against, with the blinds either closed or propped up 1/4 so we wouldn’t damage them.
Wish you luck.
xo Betty
Hi, did you remove the trim around the floor at all where you put banquette? I didn’t see that but I could have miss it. If you didn’t, then how did you get away with not removing it?
Hi Tamara, I didn’t remove the trim. I used an old piece of trim that I had and outlined it on my side pieces (see image), then cut it out and it fit perfectly without destroying the corner.
I hope this helps.
I really do not want the nook attached to the walls… Can they be made free standing, I feel if you know anything about carpentry they should be able to do this. I would imaging somehow it would have to be attached together…I am not a carpenter and would have someone else do it if I could find someone…
2-27-20
Size I want: storage a must and only 6″ by 64 inches, kinda L shaped…. Thanks
Hi Sandy,
you can totally turn this into a free-standing nook. Depending on your flooring, you could attach 2×4’s to the floor, and then attach the nook framing to the 2×4’s. But if you don’t want to have holes in your flooring or in case you have tiles this might be difficult to accomplish.
I hope you figure it out and find a good carpenter that can help you with this project.
xo Betty
Hi! I want to build one of these in our small kitchen. We have cast iron floorboard heaters. I don’t want to remove it since it’s the only heating source in the kitchen. Do you know a good way to work around it? Could I do something similar to what you did with a piece of wood to close the gap?
Thank you!
What kind of plywood did you use? Could you have used pocket holes some how to attach the plywood? Great looking project, I’m making it now. I have the frame completed!
Hi Justin, thanks for stopping by.
We used high-quality plywood from Lowes and attached them with pocket holes from the inside. For the top, we used flat screws and also a countersink bit to hide the screw top. Then I used wood filler to fill in the screw top since we didn’t plan on ever removing the bench. You can also use white screw caps to hide the silver top, which also allows you to unscrew the bench if ever needed. Hope this helps. Good luck and please feel free to share your finished project on our Instagram or facebook @oheverythinghandmade
Hi, this is great – do you have a link to the outlet and extension you used? Or something similar. I need to have the outlet on the side of the bench and would love something I could attach and just plug in via an extension to the original outlet. I can’t seem to find what you show in your pictures.