"I needed to build a kitchen banquette for my house, but the options for having one custom-built or buying modern benches was just too expensive." he says. "I then came up with an idea to use Ikea kitchen wall cabinets (Akurum) to use as the base/seating of the banquette. Using the cabinets served two purposes: (1) seating and (2) storage.
The seat cushions were custom made with vinyl by an upholsterer. I had to build wood supports behind the cabinets to give the seating area sufficient room away from the wall. I also attached small wood risers to the bottom of the cabinets to give sufficient clearance for opening the cabinet doors. The cabinets, risers, shims and cushions were all screwed to each other. The seat back cushions used Velcro for attachment to the wall. The table and light are from Ikea... the stools were from another store."
See other Ikea banquette hacks:
This looks pretty cool. However, isn't it uncomfortable to have to open the doors from the bottom up? Would it make sense to install the cabinets upside down so you can open doors from the top?
ReplyDeletei'm keeping this one in mind for hack of the year! this looks AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteNice job! I wonder though if you could have used the cabinets upside down...or the doors at least, with magnetic closures so the doors opened downward to make access easier...
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing. I really like the seat backs as well. I'm going to attempt this in my space!
ReplyDeleteNice job on this! I may use this idea at my house in the future. The anonymous commenters also had a good idea to install the doors upside down.
ReplyDeleteindeed - a really great hack, and a styling hack too
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that I should have considered building the cabinets with the doors upside down. It is a bit of a pain to store items there...so I'm usually putting stuff in there that I don't access often.
ReplyDelete- Eugene
awesome! looks really nice!
ReplyDeleteWhere exactly are the stools from? I want one!
Pretty neat!! It's a lovely corner.
ReplyDeleteI can't figure out how the corner seat works though.
This is great! we would like to do the same. Did you add extra support to handle the extra weight since it will be used as a seat?
ReplyDeleteWonderful job! One question though: Could the storage area could have been turned into a more traditional one, i.e., with the access hidden underneath the banquette cushions? Or would that have been too weak?
ReplyDeletenice post
ReplyDeleteCan you share where you got the fab stools?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Google Prince Aha stool. I have one and it is cool.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea! This is something that can be done at home!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea, but when i went to the IKEA website it was horrible to navigate, gave up looking for the relevant items
ReplyDeleteOooh, love this idea. Now if only I had someone to come build it at my house. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThese are some cool instructions. What type of wood are you using? It seems like paint grade MDF might be a good choice.
ReplyDeleteEugene. I've been wanting to make one of these as they are so clever. Thank you for posting your awesome idea. Could you possibly let us know the dimensions of the Akrum cabinets you used....there are so many sizes that I found it difficult to determine which would be best for this purpose. Also, it looks like you cut down one of the doors on the corner in order to make if functional...am I correct in my understanding? Thank you for taking the time to reply.
ReplyDeleteC.L.E.
The banquette looks so damn beautiful... Eugene have quite a creative mind....
ReplyDeleteWhat size are the cabinets you used? Also, maybe you can put a total cost to these projects for people wanting to try like me!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI love the way the green cushions match the trees outside the window
ReplyDeletesimply beautiful design
ReplyDeleteCheap is cheap. Nothing beautiful about breathing in formaldehyde for the particle board in these cheap cabinets. When are you people going to learn that if you want to live a long life then stop wasting your health buying products that will eventually cause cancer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the design doesn't work. The cabinets open up inconveniently, your heals will eventually scuff up and mar the bottoms of the doors, the end panels' sharp edges will scratch the backs of your thighs, and the overall aesthetic is rather uninteresting. No creativity here. Take it from a professional kitchen design. There are a hundred other ways to achieve this banquette. Enough free advice today.
David McNulty
"When are YOU PEOPLE going to learn..."??
DeleteCould you elaborate on some of these one "hundred other ways to achieve this banquette"? That might elevate your unabashedly condescending and mean-spirited comment to something resembling constructive.
I am shocked that someone would attach their professional name to a comment containing content and tone so utterly unprofessional.
+1
DeleteI'd also like to know if these "hundred other ways" are inexpensive and easily done by the amateur or if someone could be plugging a "professional kitchen design"? (Which, by the way, you left off the 'er' in designer. And I'm not even going to TOUCH the "you people" comment. Smh.
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