I was recently asked by some friends to design a window bench for their kitchen. This particular bench is custom sized to 70″ wide, 18″ deep, and a standard 18″ height, however the plan can be easily modified to fit any size.
Since this project will be painted, I’ve designed both the main bench as well as the drawers mainly using of 3/4″ plywood. The bench has shaker style inset drawers, as opposed to overlay drawer faces with 1/4″ trim. I elected to keep the drawer construction simple by attaching the drawer base to the bottom of the drawer boxes with glue and nails, as opposed to an inset drawer bottom. You can, of course, route 1/4 dados for the drawer panels like this, but I’m trying to keep this plan version as simple as possible with basic tools.
Material List
- (2) 4′ x 8′ x 3/4″ Plywood Sheets
- (1) 4′ x 4′ x 1/4″ Plywood Sheet
- (3) 2″ x 4″ x 6′
- (5) 1/4″ x 2″ x 4′ Hobby or Project Boards
Cut List
- (2) 2″ x 4″ x 70″ – Base
- (4) 2″ x 4″ x 13″ – Base
- (2) 18″ x 70″ x 3/4″ Plywood – Bench top and base
- (4) 18″ x 13″ x 3/4″ Plywood – Bench supports
- (6) 22″ x 3″ x 3/4″ Plywood – Bracing
- (3) 23″ x 3″ x 3/4″ Plywood – Bracing (middle)
- (6) 14″ x 8″ x 3/4″ Plywood – Drawer Boxes
- (6) 19 1/2″ x 8″ x 3/4 Plywood – Drawer Boxes
- (3) 21 3/4″ x 12 3/4″ x 3/4 Plywood – Drawer Faces
- (3) 21″ x 14″ x 1/4″ Plywood – Drawer Bottoms
- (4) 21 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 1/4″ – Drawer Trim
- (2) 22 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 1/4″ – Drawer Trim
- (6) 12 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 1/4″ – Drawer Trim
Hardware
- 3 Sets 14″ Drawer Slides
- 3 Drawer Handles
Assembly
Start with the 2×4 stud base of the bench and build up.
Add the plywood base. This will have a 2″ overhang over the kick plate of the bench. Attach with wood screws to the 2×4 base.
Measure and mark the position of the 4 bench supports and attach them with three pocket holes each. Drill your pocket holes on the top and the bottom of the supports so that we can attach the bench top from underneath. Note that the spacing of the middle third is an inch wider to accommodate the 70″ width and to keep the math simple. Then, also using pocket holes, attach the lower and upper back braces to the supports.
At this point, we’ll hold off on attaching the top of the bench so we can add in the drawers with the easier access. The right and left side drawers will be the same size, but the middle drawer will be 1″ wider. If you’re modifying the plan to fit a different size space, keep the space between the supports less than 30″ wide to prevent any sagging. You can also use some additional top bracing.
Drawer Construction
Always look at your drawer slide hardware to indicate the necessary width of space between the supports and the drawer box. Most drawer slides require 1/2″ on each side to accommodate the hardware (which is how I’ve constructed this model), but be sure to check the specific hardware you are installing and adjust the width of the drawer boxes if necessary.
Attach the side drawer box walls using pocket holes. Drill the pocket holes on the exterior of the front and back boards so that there aren’t holes that need to be filled on the inside of the drawers. The pocket holes on the front will be hidden by the drawer face, which will be attached to the front of the drawer.
Attach the 1/4″ plywood drawer bottom using wood glue and finishing nails or staples.
At this point, go ahead and install the drawer slides while you have the top off of the bench and can access the drawer spaces easily. You can use either bottom mount or side mount drawer slides, whichever you prefer. In this model, I’m using side mounted slides and attaching them on a center line on the side of the drawer boxes and then measuring the corresponding line on the bench supports, since I know some folks like exact measurements. Also note that the drawer slides are inset 1″ from the face of the supports. That’s to accommodate the drawer face, so it’s flush with the front of the supports.
However, the placement of the slides isn’t critical. What it critical is getting the drawer boxes mounted on the slides before attaching the drawer face. By attaching the slides and boxes first, you can adjust the positioning of the face so that you have uniform spaces, ideally 1/8″, all around the inset drawer faces.
At this point, you can attach the bench top to the base. Doing that will help with the placement of the drawer face onto the drawer box.
More to come shortly!