We have a great dinning room table and it would have accommodated our family just fine....if we had stopped with 4 kids. My mission was to come up with an inexpensive, cute, semi-easy solution to our dinner table problem-o. I decided on a banquette. Then I figured out I could turn this...
....Ikea's Expedit bookcase $59.99, into a banquette.
*Side Note: Yes, occasionally I do derive some of my genius from a magical fairy land called, Pinterest. But this is NOT one of those times. While we're on the topic.....does it drive anyone else crazy when people comment: "ooo, did you get that idea from Pinterest?" If I got it from Pinterest I will let you know....but for now I will take the credit for this.
I feel so much better! I just had to get that off my chest, fewwwww. Okay, I decided to go with this bookcase because it's sturdy and would be almost the exact seat height to accommodate my table when laid on its side. Time for the pictorial:
Before Picture
The Building Process
First, I assembled the bookcase, laid it on its back, removed the section of baseboard from the wall where the banquette would be located. I also mitered pieces of baseboard moulding and applied them to the exterior of the bookcase with a nail gun and liquid nail to give it some decorative detail.
Best stuff on earth to prime with. No sanding needed. Zinsser water-base interior primer. I found it at Lowes.
Primed and painted the banquette. Those Ikea frog bowls came in handy :)
Added the lid using two 30" piano hinges. Oooo, look at all that storage! I propped the lid open, then finished painting the underneath side.
Hello banquette! We used a couple of screw to secure it to the studs in the wall.
Then I sewed a nice soft cushion for my kids chubby buns to rest upon. I used indoor/outdoor fabric so that future spills would just wipe off.
....and there is my cute little rag-a-muffin enjoying her new throne. The whole family is able to eat at the table once more....although cute little Miss Meg (in the picture) has to sit in a regular chair to eat. Otherwise, she has a tendency to throw her food through the window into the family room.
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Such a brilliant idea! Although I did find this on Pinterest, I now know it was all your thinking and doing that made it fab! Ikea no longer makes Expedit, they have a new line that looks the same; Kallax. I am going to take some measurements to see if this will work for my intended space. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeletewhen you add a lid to the bookcase does it hold a lot more weight? This is exactly what I want to do for my dining room, but I want to make a U-shape. I just wasn't sure if I a bunch of adults sat around on these if they would break. Do you think it would hold the weight? How is yours holding up? Also, I wanted to remove the shelves in the middle so I would have a lot more storage space for large items. Would that make it a lot weaker?
ReplyDeleteKayla,
DeleteMy banquette has held up great! I quite often have several adults sitting on it without a problem....and we're not small people in my house, the adults range from 5'9 to 6'5. I might be able to get away with taking out one or two shelves but, I do believer the shelves help with it's stability.
I love this idea. I want to do something like this in our future home. I have pinned it for future use. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! Banquettes are really the best - seating, style and storage. Also, baseboard mouldings are a great idea - profile done without building up trim!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Cherie
where did you get the lid from? What type of wood did you use?
ReplyDeleteI was just about to ask the same questions! :)
DeleteYes, please, more details on how you constructed and attached the lid.
DeleteI would love to know as well!!!! Please!
Deletewhat is the lid? And did you put anything on the bottom?
Deletehows the height for kids to sit easily? in other words, what's the height compared to a regular kitchen chair. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHi - love this - question - what did u use for the lid and also how did u attach it to the storage?? Thanks
ReplyDeleteawesome hack!! love it. what is that design on the sides? that is definitely not baseboard molding, is it? I am specifically talking about the square design on the side and the two rectangular design sections int he front?
ReplyDeleteWhat would you say the total cost to make this was?
ReplyDeletewhere did you get the "pieces of baseboard moulding" from?
ReplyDeleteWow what a brilliant idea. Thank you for sharing!!
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Ooohhh did you put that on Pinterest? :) It's lovely!
ReplyDelete