Asked on Jan 24, 2015

TV stand to window bench

This was left in the house we will be moving into. It's too large to put into my grand daughter's room and I would like to take off the top and sides and make it into a window bench. How difficult would this be to do? Is there anything I should know before starting this project. I would like to keep it the same color, but how and with what do I fill the holes that might be left from the removal?
It's almost 6 ft high and the wood is really good. Door work and nice storage inside.
  7 answers
  • Darla Darla on Jan 24, 2015
    Do you want to cut off the top and just use the bottom part, or remove the shelf and use it that way?
  • Fab and Pretty Fab and Pretty on Jan 24, 2015
    Oh these old tv stands. We have one which also had a side door. We couldn't sell it and it was a good solid piece so we transformed it into a tv bench. We ran painters tape horizontally on the line at the height we wanted to cut the unit down to, this help protect the finish when you're cutting. I would recommend a circular saw? (has a round blade). In this case you're going to have a rough edge where you cut so I'd suggest removing the very top piece to and using it to top your unit off. We reattached our top by gluing and screwing from the underside...that may be tricky with your allowable space.
  • Mcgypsy9 Mcgypsy9 on Jan 24, 2015
    Hi Shirley...first I would lay the piece on it's back and I agree with Donna to run painters tape or masking tape down the sides of the unit where the bench top would be to separate the top from the bottom. Draw a straight line down the tape to show you where to cut. Do not hit the seat part of the bench with the saw. Use a circular saw (every man seems to have one but if you don't have one, you can rent them from a tool rental store) (Lowe's I believe will rent them too) and cut on the lines you have drawn. The top and bottom will then be separated. NOW..take the very top of the top piece off of the top of the unit and use that piece to make your new bench seat. Even though there is a bench seat there, you still want to cover where you cut it. First you would want to glue that top piece to the the top of your seat where you have cut edges. Then, you can attach it with a nail gun or just nails. It will actually give you a double layer seat top. If you don't want a double layer seat top you can remove the bench seat that is still on the bench and then put the top of the unit top on it and have just one layer of seat. I am telling you to use the very top of the unit because it is big enough to cover your cuts. You can purchase touch up stain and try to match it to the original but if you really want to get creative, use chalk paint. Easy to use, easy to make and you can do the bench in any color you want to match the rooms' décor. If you need more answers please feel free to ask. OH and the excess wood that is left you can use for other projects or if you just want to get rid of it, Please offer it to a Crafter, put an add on craigslist under free for someone to pick it up from your yard, or give it to your nearest Habitat for Humanity!
  • Shirley Kalinosky Shirley Kalinosky on Jan 24, 2015
    We just came back from doing the measurements of the stand and my grand daughter's room. That would work well to use the top as the seat. Thanks for you input. YOu really seem to 'know your stuff'.
    • Rosie Walsh Rosie Walsh on Jan 25, 2015
      @Shirley Kalinosky How about a cushion for the top...........comfy reading spot.
  • Sharon de Vries Sharon de Vries on Jan 24, 2015
    you totally can do this….but i would find a piece of 3/4 inch plywood on top to the size of window you would put it in…stain plywood to match bottom put edge strip in front so you dont snag yourself on the unfinished edge of plywood and make a cushion to fit with fabric she likes or a nice sheet to match her decor a few pillows and a perfect window bench slash reading nook……..enjoy..looking at size of unit you could use side boards of the unit to make an extended seat and its already stained to match….dont know about the strength of this is it would or melamine board…..or you could put two layers of the long boards to make it stronger and kid friendly….
  • Lucy Nunn Lucy Nunn on Jan 25, 2015
    What a great idea to recycle these old tv armoires.
  • Pamela P Pamela P on Jan 26, 2015
    I would also try to salvage the molding across the top and reuse it on the top of the shelf.