Build a Banquette Seat With IKEA SEKTION Cabinets in 8 Steps for 30% More Storage

Build the storage first

Start with the storage run, then make it comfortable enough to sit on. A stick-framed bench built from 2x4s creates a hollow cavity that is reached from above, with corners that stay awkward once the cushion and lid are in place. Rotate IKEA SEKTION cabinet boxes into the banquette footprint and the same area becomes lined storage with cabinet hardware already designed around doors, runners and soft-close movement.

The 30 percent storage figure comes from geometry, access and the L-corner. A typical hollow banquette base measuring 200 cm by 60 cm by 42 cm holds about 0.5 cubic metres, yet much of that volume is top-access-only. Three 60 cm SEKTION boxes across the same run give three separate drawers or lift-front compartments, so the back portion no longer disappears behind a single large lid.

Cost per usable litre is the other advantage. SEKTION carcasses are melamine-faced particleboard with the 32 mm cabinet hole system already drilled. Shelf pins, hinge plates and drawer runners line up without site-built measuring. Recreating that precision in cut plywood calls for a domino jointer, edge banding and a day of work, while the flat-pack box supplies the square carcass at a lower cost.

Steps 1 and 2: dry-fit the carcasses before fixing anything

Measure the corner run twice and lay the boxes on the floor in the exact order they will occupy. SEKTION widths include 30, 40, 60 and 80 cm, with wall cabinets at 37 cm deep and base cabinets at 61 cm deep. For banquette seating, use the base depth. The 61 cm dimension supports an adult thigh to within a few centimetres of the knee, which is where shallow benches usually feel wrong.

Assemble each carcass according to the printed IKEA sheet and stop before adding doors or drawer fronts. The bare box is easier to level, clamp and fasten. Check the fronts against the room line during this dry fit, because a small skew across several boxes becomes obvious once the cushion has a straight front edge.

An L-shaped banquette brings the familiar inside-corner problem. Two runs meeting at 90 degrees form a dead triangle behind the join. Leave one carcass short by its own width and cover the gap with a removable plywood panel. That void becomes a deep bin reached by lifting the panel, which is especially useful for bulky grocery overflow or infrequently used kitchen items. On an L-run, that recovered corner is where the extra storage gain is most visible.

Anchor to studs, with the plinth doing only vertical work

Find the studs with a Bosch GMS 120 or another capacitive detector, mark the positions, and drive 80 mm structural screws through the back rail of each SEKTION carcass into the framing. Use two screws per stud and catch at least two studs per box.

Built-in seats fail by racking: a person sits hard near the end and the assembly slowly walks away from the wall. The plinth carries vertical load; the wall connection resists the tipping moment.

Step 4: make the 18 mm deck do its job

Cap the carcasses with an 18 mm birch ply deck. Across a 60 cm unsupported span over a lift-front bay, thinner sheet material can deflect visibly under an 80 kg adult, and that bounce is felt through the cushion. Birch ply at 18 mm, supported by the box walls on both sides, gives the seat a firm platform.

For lift-up sections, the deck is also the lid. Hinge it along the back wall with a continuous piano hinge, which spreads the load along the full rear edge and keeps the lid from twisting when it is opened one-handed. Fit a soft-stay lid support rated for the lid weight, the type sold for blanket boxes, so the lid holds open at any angle and does not drop shut.

Add a grip point before the lid is painted. A 20 mm finger gap cut into the front edge works, and a recessed flush pull also suits a cleaner face. A lid with no way to catch it is the compartment people stop using first.

Where pull-out access is preferred, fit SEKTION drawer fronts and MAXIMERA runners as designed. Those bays need a separate floating cushion panel above them, because the drawer top has no seating role. The cushion lifts away and the loaded drawer slides forward, which makes this layout better for heavier stored items.

Keep the deck 30 mm proud of the cabinet front. That small nose gives toe clearance when people sit down or stand up, and it gives the cushion a definite front edge to wrap over visually.

Steps 5 and 6: set the toe kick and hide the wall join

Set the plinth back 70 mm from the front face of the seat to create a toe recess, following the same logic as a kitchen base unit. A flush base catches shins when people slide into the bench. IKEA sells matching toe-kick strip, while a strip of the same birch ply painted to match the bench often looks cleaner.

At the wall, assume the plaster line will wander. Run vertical tongue-and-groove paneling down until it sits on the seat deck. The paneling covers the join, gives the back a finished leaning surface, and lets the bottom board be scribed to the deck for a tight fit. A 9 mm pine or MDF beadboard fixed to wall battens with glue and pins is enough, since this paneling carries no seating load.

Step 7: specify the cushion by density

Choose the cushion foam by density first. A 100 mm slab of soft 18 kg per cubic metre upholstery foam compresses heavily under an adult and can bottom out onto the ply within a year. For a seat that keeps its shape, specify high-resilience foam at 35 kg per cubic metre or higher, cut to 80 to 100 mm thick. That density is used for sofa seat cushions that keep support under regular sitting.

Wrap the foam in polyester wadding before the fabric cover goes on. The wadding rounds the hard edge of the cut foam and stops the finished cover from looking shrink-wrapped. For fabric, a tight-weave upholstery cloth rated above 30,000 Martindale rubs is suitable for a kitchen bench. A loose linen at 15,000 Martindale rubs will pill where people slide in and out.

Use the same construction approach as a dining chair cushion, scaled up for the bench. Staple the fabric cover to a thin ply base board, then place the finished cushion on the deck so it can lift cleanly for the storage below. Make the cushions in sections matching the storage bays. A single 200 cm cushion has to be lifted off whole to reach any compartment; three separate cushions can be moved one at a time.

Step 8: paint the visible parts and leave the interiors practical

If the SEKTION fronts are white melamine and the bench needs colour, key the birch deck and exposed ply with a light sand before painting. Annie Sloan chalk paint techniques suit the birch deck and toe kick because the matte finish hides brush marks and raw wood needs no primer. Melamine fronts need a bonding primer first, or the topcoat can peel at the first wet wipe.

Use two thin coats and add clear wax on the deck edge where shoes scuff. That edge takes more abuse than the broad top surface, especially below the cushion overhang.

Inside the boxes, the melamine remains as the working surface; its value is the wipe-clean lining you would otherwise have to build from raw ply.