Renovating
7 Ideas for Incorporating a Window Seat into Your Extension
You’ve probably planned the size, layout, flooring and doors in your extension – but have you considered a window seat?
Amid the practicalities of planning an extension, it’s worth considering a few little extras that could elevate the space from good to gorgeous. A cosy window seat with a view of the garden is a great option to add to your wish list. Take a look at these ideas to see how you could incorporate a light-filled pew in your extension.
…while the sides and top outside are glazed.
Carve out of cabinets
Here’s a similar design, but this time the window doesn’t project out of the back of the house. Instead, the team at VC Design Architectural Services
have built storage around the glazed area.
The cabinets are wide enough to form a seat in the window, with a couple of downlights above for evening reading. The bottom and right-hand surfaces are wood to signify the best way to sit for a view of the garden.
Here’s a similar design, but this time the window doesn’t project out of the back of the house. Instead, the team at VC Design Architectural Services
have built storage around the glazed area.
The cabinets are wide enough to form a seat in the window, with a couple of downlights above for evening reading. The bottom and right-hand surfaces are wood to signify the best way to sit for a view of the garden.
Let it slide
If you’d rather have a window that opens, a sliding design like this one might appeal. A simple bench seat continues from the wall to extend along the bottom of the glazed area.
The team at Eckford Chong Design have installed beautiful steel-framed windows above the seat, which slide open. The owners can enjoy an indoor-outdoor feel while sitting in the dining area.
If you’d rather have a window that opens, a sliding design like this one might appeal. A simple bench seat continues from the wall to extend along the bottom of the glazed area.
The team at Eckford Chong Design have installed beautiful steel-framed windows above the seat, which slide open. The owners can enjoy an indoor-outdoor feel while sitting in the dining area.
Outside, the sliding design has allowed the team to create another seat on the patio, because the bench isn’t obstructed by an open hinged window.
Tempted to include a window seat in your extension? Find local architects in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Tempted to include a window seat in your extension? Find local architects in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Fashion a cosy nook
An L-shaped extension is perfect for incorporating not just one, but two window seats. In this kitchen, the designers at Paper House Project have used plywood to build a cosy dining nook in the extended area.
Bench seats along the two external walls are each next to a window. The owners can eat in their snug corner while enjoying the light from the courtyard garden.
An L-shaped extension is perfect for incorporating not just one, but two window seats. In this kitchen, the designers at Paper House Project have used plywood to build a cosy dining nook in the extended area.
Bench seats along the two external walls are each next to a window. The owners can eat in their snug corner while enjoying the light from the courtyard garden.
In this space by Imperfect Interiors, the design is similar to the last one, but one of the seats has been swapped to the other side. There’s still a perch beneath the window at the back, but the second bench is opposite the window.
With this layout, the owners still benefit from a window seat, but from the long pew they can enjoy a view of the garden.
With this layout, the owners still benefit from a window seat, but from the long pew they can enjoy a view of the garden.
Choose your angle
If the window you’d like to build a seat below is next to another feature, there might be ways to ensure it doesn’t become an obstruction.
Here, for example, the team at Herringbone Kitchens have come up with a nifty way to squeeze a bench seat alongside a patio door. They’ve angled the joinery so it slopes away from the doorway, providing plenty of space to walk in and out.
If the window you’d like to build a seat below is next to another feature, there might be ways to ensure it doesn’t become an obstruction.
Here, for example, the team at Herringbone Kitchens have come up with a nifty way to squeeze a bench seat alongside a patio door. They’ve angled the joinery so it slopes away from the doorway, providing plenty of space to walk in and out.
This diagonal shape looks lovely in the space, as it replicates the angled design of the bay window and walls elsewhere in the room.
Consider all the views
Window seats work particularly well when the designers have considered how the joinery will look from outside as well as inside. Here, the side return extension projects further into the garden, which allowed IQ Glass UK to include picture windows on two walls.
The designers have fitted a simple wooden seat along the bottom of the window to provide a comfy perch with a view.
Window seats work particularly well when the designers have considered how the joinery will look from outside as well as inside. Here, the side return extension projects further into the garden, which allowed IQ Glass UK to include picture windows on two walls.
The designers have fitted a simple wooden seat along the bottom of the window to provide a comfy perch with a view.
Outside, a bench seat is perfectly lined up with the inside perch to complete the look.
Tell us…
Which of these window seat ideas is your favourite? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Tell us…
Which of these window seat ideas is your favourite? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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Can’t decide whether you’d like a view from the dining area or the cooking zone in your open-plan extension? There’s no reason why you can’t have both. Here, the team at Beacham Architects have positioned a picture window at the end of the kitchen units – and the low sill has provided an opportunity for a window seat.
This particular window is an oriel design, which protrudes out from the exterior of the building. The interior section is framed with wood…