Break from the Kitchen -- Window Seats!

Ever since we bought this house, I've wanted to build window seats in my office. There are two dormer windows that just scream for a window seat/toy box.
Measuring for the base in Window Seat #1

 Current Window Seat #2 storage... not very organized and looks very messy!

 Building the frame out of 2x4s. 2x4s are nailed together and nailed into the wall studs. I also used an extra metal support to attach the front center piece.

 I cut a piece of plywood to fit the front, lining up with the wall below (I'm replacing the baseboards, that's why they're missing!)

 View from the top -- you can see the metal brace from in here.

 I added a piece of wood in the back to attach the hinge to.

 I cut two pieces for the sides that were also nailed in. Then, for the lift up door piece, I used a piece of 1x10 that was cut to size. It slightly overlaps the edge of the box for a lip to open the box and stay closed. This picture shows the box after I used nail filler and primed.

 The inside of the box, with the supports.

 Adding trim pieces.

Caulked and trimmed! I used leftover trim (old baseboard trim) that was in the garage to make a picture frame around the exterior of the front of the box. I caulked all the pieces to make it look seamless, and painted the interior and exterior pure white. I then painted the front of box with caulkboard paint (Thanks, Martha Stewart!). So easy and I had all the makings for it in the garage!

 Window Seat #1 and #2, all done! The baseboard still needs to be nailed in, and I hemmed the curtains to match the new height. It looks so much cleaner with all our extra pillows and blankets tucked away!