How to Build a Freestanding Banquette

Purchasing a custom-made banquette for a space in your house is a drawn-out and expensive process. Building a banquette yourself becomes less intimidating when you consider that a banquette is simply an upholstered storage bench. Taking this project into your own hands gives you freedom to customize the measurements, materials, colors and design. To make the banquette less permanent, build a freestanding one, and take it with you wherever you move.

Tape measure
Marker
Pinewood boards
Table saw
2-by-4s
Wood glue
Wood screws
Screwdriver
Wood primer
Wood paint
Paintbrushes
Upholstery cushions
Hook-and-loop fastener strips for fabrics

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the space where the banquette will be installed, including the length along the walls and the desired height of the banquette. Corner banquettes rest flush against two adjacent walls. Record these measurements.
- 2
  Mark measurements on pinewood boards. Cut out six pinewood boards for each bench with your table saw, four boards for the sides, one for the base and one for the lid.
- 3
  Create a frame with 2-by-4s. Cut 2-by-4s to the length of the pinewood boards. Use wood glue and wood screws to attach the cut 2-by-4s that make the base, legs and top of the frame, shaping your bench. Reinforce the frame by gluing and screwing one 2-by-4 piece every 6 inches to 1 foot along the sides of the frame. This measurement will vary, depending on how long your bench is.
- 4
  Attach the pinewood boards to your frame. Glue and screw the boards onto the frame in their respective positions. Repeat for the number of benches you'll include in your banquette.
- 5
  Prime and paint your completed benches to hide the appearance of the screws. Paint a layer of primer, and let it dry completely. Then paint a second coat. Repeat this process with your colored paint.
- 6
  Attach cushions to the top of your banquette benches. Glue the soft side your fabric fastener to the top of the wooden bench, and glue the connecting side to the bottom of your upholstery. Let the fastener dry overnight before attaching cushions to the bench top.
- 7
  Position your benches against the desired walls in your house. Banquettes typically rest flat against walls, but since these are freestanding, they can be repositioned to wherever you like.

DIY Prefab Rooms

Cost of Raising a Roof

Home Additions