How to Build a Window Seat With Built-In Storage Drawers

A window seat with built-in storage drawers is one of those home features that makes you feel like you live in a much more considered, well-designed space. The one pictured here — a wide oak bench with three deep drawers, a thick cushion in cool grey, and decorative pillows — sits in a garden-facing window with sheer curtains and afternoon light pouring in. Beside it, a bookshelf with plants. In front, a hint of a rug. It is everything a reading nook should be.

Why window seats work

A window seat solves three problems simultaneously: it gives you somewhere to sit that isn't the sofa (important for a sense of variety in how you use a room), it stores things that would otherwise have no home (the drawers here could hold books, throws, board games or seasonal items), and it makes a window into an architectural feature rather than just a hole in the wall.

Building or buying a window seat

Custom built-in window seats are the best version but require carpentry skill or a tradesperson. A simpler approach: buy a low bookcase or storage bench of the right depth, position it under the window, and add a custom-cut cushion on top. The result looks almost as good for a fraction of the cost.

Choosing the cushion

A thick cushion — at least 8–10 cm deep — is what makes a window seat genuinely comfortable rather than decorative. Choose a fabric that wipes clean (boucle and performance linen are popular choices), in a colour that works with your wall and curtain tones. Shades of grey, sage, dusty blue and warm cream are the most versatile.

The plants and bookshelf beside it

The bookshelf to the right of the window seat is a perfect companion: books to read, plants at different heights, a ceramic pot or two. Together they reinforce the sense that this is a deliberate, loved corner rather than a leftover space.

Interior tips

• Use sheer curtains rather than blackout blinds at a window seat — the point is the light, and sheers filter it beautifully without blocking it.
• Add a throw blanket draped casually over one end of the cushion — it signals that this is a place to relax and adds warmth to the corner.
• Pull-out drawers are more practical than lift-up lids in a window seat because you can access them without moving the cushion.
• Keep the pillows simple: two or three in different textures and a coordinating pattern. Too many cushions make sitting down an exercise in rearranging.
• A small side table nearby — for a cup of tea, a phone and a candle — completes the reading nook and makes it actually usable.