33 Inviting Window Seat Ideas That'll Make You Want to Curl Up With a Book (2024)

Decorating

Design Tips

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  Leave the Windows Bare

  

  In this light-flooded Palo Alto, CA home from Cathie Hong Interiors, a built-in, wood-topped window seat in the dining room creates an off-duty reading nook or extra bench seating when there's a crowd.

  Windows are curtain-free to maximize functionality, while patterned throw pillows in neutral tones add softness.

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  Decorate the Landing

  

  This spacious upstairs landing from Mindy Gayer Design Co. is flooded with Southern California light, making the pass-through space an ideal location for a built-in window seat that runs beneath a wall of double windows.

  A natural-toned floor basket is a decorative way to store extra blankets or favorite reading material between uses to keep the space looking tidy.

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  Create a Day Bed Hybrid

  

  One of the joys of working from home is having the option to stay focused—and take needed breaks—in any location or posture without having coworkers looking on.

  This cozy L-shaped home office from Anita Yokota includes a cozy and casual window seat daybed for reading drafts, brainstorming new ideas, or grabbing a power nap.

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  Optimize the Mudroom

  

  This built-in mudroom window seat from Becca Interiors is located steps from the front door of a Hudson River view Colonial home in New York state, making it a convenient place to take off muddy boots or set down your sun hat and farmers market haul.

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  Use a Vintage Love Seat

  

  Becca Interiors created an improvised window seat in the home library corner of this Hudson Valley, NY Colonial home by placing an upholstered vintage loveseat beneath the window that fits snugly between a pair of built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
  

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  Create an Attic Perch

  

  This attic reading room from Jersey Ice Cream Co. is kid-friendly but fun for the whole family, with cozy floor rugs and pillows and wrap-around banquettes that include a built-in window seat that hides the AC and offers natural light and views.

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  Supersize It

  

  See Also

  15 IKEA DIY Window Seat Hacks55 Window Seat Ideas (Benches, Storage & Cushions)How to Build a Window Bench with Storage - Nick + AliciaHow to design the perfect window seat - Making your Home Beautiful

  In this spacious bedroom from Emily Henderson Design, an extra-long window seat is built beneath a large bank of windows, hugging the irregular shape of the room's walls to maximize surface area and achieve a streamlined look.

  The extra bench space means that it's big enough to share or use to display plants, books, or decor objects.

  A reading light sconce in the corner and some throw pillows and blankets make it comfortable and functional.

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  Accessorize the Dressing Room

  

  This fully loaded dressing room from Britt Design Studio includes ample storage for clothes, accessories, and shoes, plus a built-in window seat under the arched window for gathering yourself before heading out to face the world.

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  Use Warm Colors

  

  This kids' room from Becca Interiors has vintage wallpaper and furniture, warm colors, and tons of homespun Colonial charm. But the focal point of the room is the charming double window seat that's all set up for storytime.

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  Add a Storage Bench

  

  If you don't have the budget for a built-in, or your window is on the smaller side, try installing a bench instead.

  In this bedroom window seat hack designed by Emily Bowser for Emily Henderson Design, a simple upholstered bench with built-in hidden storage is wedged into the corner for extra stability,

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  Add Built-In Shelves

  

  Christina Kim Interior Design created a reading corner in this blue-and-white home office, complete with a comfortable window seat flanked by built-in bookshelves for storing reading materials and displaying objects.

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  Create a Way Station

  

  This long, rectangular combination laundry room mudroom from KG Designs has wall hooks for storing jackets and backpacks, bench seating for putting on shoes, and a pair of window seats where you can take a load off while you wait for the towels to finish drying.

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  Decorate With Plants

  

  Not every window is possessed of a picturesque view. This window seat from JK Interior Living faces a brick wall, but lets plenty of natural light into the mudroom, and includes a place for plants on the windowsill.

  The bench is outfitted with a generous smattering of plump pillows, and dark navy wall paint defines the window seat area.

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  Add a Spa-Like Feel

  

  This spacious bathroom from Desiree Burns Interiors has enough room for large twin vanities, with a generous window seat tucked in between them that adds a spa-like feel.

  The window seat is built in beneath a large arched window with a view of the outdoors, a perfect place to paint your toenails or share a moment with your partner while admiring the leafy view.

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  Make a Kids' Reading Corner

  

  This kid-friendly corner window seat from Mindy Gayer Design Co. is decorated in keeping with the blue, white, and red theme of the room.
  

  Built-in drawers add storage, a thick upholstered seat provides comfort, and plenty of throw pillows and a spare blanket invite quiet time and encourage reading.

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  Add Bench Seating

  

  In this roomy bedroom from Emily Henderson Design, the closets on either side of the far window make it impossible to install a built-in window seat.

  But there's room enough for a small wood bench that can serve as a perch for putting on shoes, sipping morning coffee, or daydreaming by the light of the window on a cold winter's day.

  Light billowy curtains scrape the floor and help fill in the space around the bench without looking heavy or encroaching on the closet doors.

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  Fill a Dead Space

  

  This built-in window seat with under-bench storage from KG Designs turns the dead space of an empty hallway into a dedicated zone for reading, chilling, or seating waiting clients just outside of the home office.

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  Add Built-In Shelving

  

  Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made by Carmona gave her parents' rustic and traditional mountain home library a modern refresh with white paint, floor-to-ceiling shelving, and a built-in window seat for whiling the hours away reading, hanging out, and playing music in the shadow of the wood-burning stove.

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  Add Charm to the Nursery

  

  It may be true that every nursery needs a rocking chair, but this baby room from Becca Interiors makes the case that window seats are another flexible seating option for everything from burping the baby to supervising toddlers playing on the floor.

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  Spice Up an Eat-In Kitchen

  

  This eat-in kitchen dining area from Jessica Nelson Design gets an extra kick with the addition of a cozy corner window seat banquette outfitted with comfy throw pillows and a small round cafe table to preserve flow.

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  Embellish the Bay Window

  

  The dark green paint on the walls of this home library from Kate Marker Interior has a calming effect that invites relaxation and gives definition to a cozy window seat that is built into a recessed bay window providing views and natural light.
  

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  Add Curves

  

  Break up the linear quality of a typical window seat by adding curves. Sissy + Marley Interior Design installed a bending window seat in this chic and neutral New York City highrise apartment that gives it a custom look and a softer feel.

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  Modernize a Victorian

  

  Modernize a small window seat in a period home with a colorful throw pillow and a piece of modern art on the wall, like this modern Victorian home renovated by Chango & Co.

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  Use Neutral Tones

  

  Decorate your window seat with black, white, and pale wood tones to keep the focus on the view.

  Michelle Berwick Design kept it simple and modern in this home gym complete with a large three-paned picture window with a winter wonderland view.

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  Double It Up

  

  Install a pair of window seats beneath the windows on either side of a fireplace to create double reading nooks, like this living room from Chango & Co.

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  Add Coordinating Colors

  

  Decorate your window seat with matching upholstery, throw pillows, and art for a coordinated look, like this spacious staircase landing from Britt Design Studio.

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  Add a Roman Shade

  

  Soften a bedroom window seat by hanging a large patterned fabric Roman shade that will diffuse light or block views.

  Ashley Montgomery Design paired different floral patterns on the window shade and wallpaper.

  Painted shiplap wainscoting adds a cozy feel, while a pair of sconces provide symmetry and extra light for reading sessions that stretch into the night.

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  Playroom Window Seat

  

  A deep playroom window seat can double as a sleeping space for visiting kids and cousins, like this colorful space from Chango & Co. that is upholstered with a comfy cherry red cushion and a multitude of throw pillows.

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  Create a Kitchen Banquette

  

  A simple wood window seat banquette stretching wall to wall in an eat-in kitchen adds a farmhouse feel.

  Leanne Ford Interiors added under-bench storage and unattached pillows covered in white linen for an effortless feel.

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  Basem*nt Window Seat

  

  While basem*nt windows are generally too high to gaze out of, they do provide natural light.

  Give your finished basem*nt a modified version of a window seat by installing a comfy banquette beneath a tall basem*nt window, like this family-friendly space from Michelle Berwick Design.

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  Create a Waiting Room

  

  Add comfort to a spacious combination mudroom laundry room with a custom window seat that hugs the windows and provides a place to chill while your towels finish drying, like this space from Jessica Nelson Design.

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  Focus on the View

  

  Sissy + Marley Interior Design decorated this ultra-luxurious window seat with understated pale neutrals that keep the focus on the multi-million dollar view of New York City.

  A window seat can be both chic and practical, hiding technical elements like a radiator or air conditioner from view with a perforated cover.

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  Float the Bench

  

  Create a modern window seat for a small mudroom with a chunky wood floating bench seat that will keep the design feeling light and airy, like this neutral space from Michelle Berwick Design.