I have a serious thing for daybeds. There is something so primally cozy about curling up on a deep bed, surrounded by cushions.

Daybeds are practical, too. I have one in my craft studio, which is also our guest room. It’s a twin bed for our single guests, and there is a pop-up trundle below that can be combined with the main bed to make a king bed for couples and families.

When we added built-in closets to our master bedroom, they created a little alcove under the windows that was perfect for a window seat. Rather than a narrow bench, I decided to fill this space with a deep daybed, perfect for reading, napping, or lounging and taking in the view.

This space will also work out for those nights when a nightmare brings a little one into our room in the middle of the night… see, practical!

I considered building something myself, but I was nervous that that kind of project might never get done, with three kids running around. So, I did a lot of browsing and measuring to find ready-made materials that would fit together into an almost-built-in deep window seat and then added handmade touches with the pillows and storage boxes.

I found that three of these Closetmaid 3 Cube White Storage Benches filled the space almost end to end, leaving just enough room to access the electrical outlets on the walls at either end. The benches I bought are only 14″ deep, but I was able to add extra depth with some existing pieces boxes and shelves around the house, to create a luxurious 30″ deep daybed. To top it all off, I used two basic crib mattresses which fit perfectly across and provide great support. This Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams White Crib Mattress is reasonably priced and on the larger side (did you know crib mattresses were not a standard size?!), so it fills up the bench nicely.

Although I used benches out of a box and ready-made mattresses, this project has lots of handmade touches as well:

• seat cushion cover
• round bolster pillows and other decorative pillows – I used a variety of fabrics that capture the color scheme of the room – warm neutral gray with accents in red and turquoise.
• fabric-covered storage boxes – JJ is potty-trained now, except for overnight, and these are overnight diaper boxes, that fit perfectly inside the cubbies, with just a half inch trimmed from the top. I have complete instructions for these and other storage boxes in another post.

I’m beyond happy with out new window seat and am looking forward to enjoying many quiet moments here.

“Jewels”