For those of you who don’t know, our Sunroom use to be our screened in porch, and we converted it a little over one year ago. Our dryer vent came out the back of the house onto our porch and exited out the side- (contractor mistake during the build/remodel) but when it came time to convert this space into a sunroom, we had to create something to hide the vent, so we decided on a corner bench- cost effective, practical, and beautiful. Truth is, this is our favorite place to sit in our home and we are so happy we added it to this space!

Materials

• 2×4 Lumber Studs
• 2 1/2″ Construction Wood Screws
• 1 1/2” Brad Nails 
• Nail Gun
• Pine Tongue and Groove Boards
• Pine Outside Corner Moulding
• Pine Screen Moulding
• 3/4” x 4′ x 8′ Sanded Plywood 
• White Indoor/Outdoor Paintable Silicone Acrylic Caulk
• 3″ Upholstery Foam
• Fabric

Corner Bench Dimensions are 62”L x 78”L x 22″H

• Total Depth is 17” (frame Depth is 16 1/2” and tongue & groove face is 1/2″)
• Total Height is 22”
• Frame Height is 17 1/2” and sits 1” lower than tongue & groove face so that the plywood lays inside
• T&G Boards are 18 1/2″
• Pine Screen Molding is 1/2″ that lays on top of the T&G cut ends
• Cushion is 3″

How To

I started out by making the box frame from 2x4s to which the T&G boards would be attached. I used 8 studs total for the lengths of the bottom base and top portions of the box frame- 4 for the 62” box and 4 for the 78” box. 

Starting with the bottom portion of the box, I used wood screws and attached 4 brace sections in between the 2 long studs. I added vertical braces to the sides of the box and horizontal braces to the top to create support all the way around for the 78” box. I did the same for the 62” box but only used 3 brace sections instead of 4 since the length was shorter. You can figure out how many braces you need depending on size and weight distribution.

Once the box frames were complete, I started attaching the 18 1/2” cut T&G boards to the face of the 2×4 stud box frame with brad nails and a nail gun. Remember, I cut the T&G boards 1″ taller than the box frame height since we wanted the sanded plywood to sit inset and be hidden instead of sitting on top of the T&G boards.

Once complete, I attached an outside corner moulding to each outside corner of the 2 bench portions. I also flipped one outside corner moulding piece so that the corner attached to the seem where the two boxes meet. After all corner pieces were in place, the 3/4″ plywood was placed inside the finished frame.

For a more finished look, we decided to add some pine screen moulding to the tops of the T&G face.

Once that is done, we caulked, painted, and added the 3” custom cushions to complete the project.

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