Molly Frey Design: Design Details: Window Seat

In this project we took a large, spare sitting room and renovated it to become a master bedroom. Along one wall of this room there was a set of four windows with an especially deep window sill. The set of windows is large - about 15 feet long - and I knew this space would be tough to deal with. It wasn't deep enough to be a window seat, but it was also deeper and longer than a normal window sill so it looked kind of bare with nothing on it. I was worried that it was the kind of surface that could quickly get junked up with nick nacks and decorative accessories.

In the new layout, this set of windows is at the foot of the bed - sort of a focal point - so it was important to treat the space right. I designed a window seat in front of the windows to add a comfortable, sunny nook to the room. Notice that the seat doesn't extend all the way across the full set of windows - this would have been too large and overwhelming for the room. Instead, the sides were kept at the original depth - leaving the perfect amount of space for reading lamps and a pile of books - and adding some much needed dimension to the wall.

I felt that window treatments on these windows would be too busy so I also designed a window trim that completely hides a window shade system. The shade is tucked up under the top piece of molding and is invisible while the shade is up. However, for privacy and light control the shades can easily be pulled down - essential in a bedroom.