Breakfast Nook Bench

Before picture with wallpaper removed

The very first time we saw the Butler's Panty and Breakfast Nook on our initial walk through of the house with our realtor, Glenda Lewis (to say she fought hard to help us get this house would be an understatement), we said this would be a perfect place for a Breakfast Bench.

Even with it's wallpaper and dated color scheme, we could see it's true potential.

Old wallpaper

Walls and trim painted

Karen removed all the wallpaper from the room - thank you! I had enough practice in the old house and was glad to not have to do this room. With that said, we have become experts at removing wallpaper. I will detail our process at a later date. In the meantime - if you have wallpaper that you are itching to take down and want some pointers - just ask!


After changing the light fixture, painting the walls and trim, renovating the butler's pantry and restoring the original wide plank pine wood floors - I set my mind on the project I was most excited about - building a breakfast bench!

I spent some time looking at pictures online of various breakfast benches to get inspiration. I looked for some breakfast bench plans, too. However, I never quite saw a 3 sided bench like we wanted, but I saw enough to give me some ideas. With that, I took some measurements and drew a very simplistic sketch of what I had in mind. Which brings me to the first step.

Step 1 - Sketch your Project

My Blueprint & Bill of Materials

Step 2 - Buy your Materials

I would like to say that I only had to go to the store once because my bill of materials was dead on, but of course we all know that was not the case :-)

Step 3 - Build your Framework

I used 2x3's instead of 2x4's. They are less expensive, easier to carry (lighter) and plenty strong enough for a project of this size.

I measured 17.25" up from the floor. I wanted an overall 18" seat height. I planned to make the top of the bench out of 3/4" hardwood plywood. So the two added together gave me the 18" I wanted. Using my level - I marked this 17.25" height all around the room starting from this initial spot. Note - if you want the top of your bench to be level, you cannot just measure 17.25" in all the different spots around the room and connect the dots because who's to say the floor in a 76 year old house is still perfectly level!!!

I connected the top rails first to the wall with drywall screws. Then using my level and right triangle I added the other supports and rails as needed. Then I added the cross braces. I will not lie - I am not a carpenter by trade - so there were some on the fly adjustments and un-screwing and re-screwing needed here and there. But overall, it went together as planned. Even at this point in the process I could tell this was going to be one solid bench!

Final framework for the bench

Step 4 - Plywood Sides

I used clamps to hold the pieces in place until I nailed them in for good

I used 3/4" hardwood plywood for this project for a couple of reasons. First, the top layer is MUCH smoother than normal plywood so it paints to a super even finish. Second, it is more durable than regular plywood. Since this bench will be sat on (and sometimes walked on...Luke!!!) and used for homework (and may accidentally be written on with the pen...Luke!!!)...it will resist dings and pressure impressions better than normal plywood.

One of my circular saw guides

As far as cutting all my plywood I do not have some fancy table saw. Actually all I owned at the time was a small 18V Ryobi rechargeable circular saw (until I finally purchased a real corded circular saw to cut the slates for the patio a few weeks ago). I made a set of saw guides out of some particle board 8 years ago in 2 foot, 4 foot and 8 foot lengths that I still use today. I have used these to cut every piece of plywood, bead-board and more for all my projects at this house and the last house. Smooth straight cuts are needed and these guides get the job done right!...and they are very easy to make.

Sidenote: How to make a circular saw guide for your saw - The pictures can probably show you how to make them. Basically you need two pieces of 1/2" plywood or particle board. You need at least one of the edges to be perfectly square. That squared edge is used as the edge that your saw guide will touch as you make your cuts. Attach this top board to your second piece of plywood with screws (and wood glue if you like). Make sure this bottom board sticks out longer than the width from your blade to the edge of your saw guide. Now cut this bottom board to width by just cutting the bottom board using the squared edge on the top board as your guide. What is left is the perfect guide for your specific saw. You line up the edge of the bottom board on any two points, clamp it down and you will make a perfectly straight and smooth cut every time.

Here I stopped mid-cut to show you how my circular saw guide works

...and now back to our regularly scheduled blog post...

As for attaching the plywood to the frame...I had been wanting one forever and finally broke down and purchased my first air tank and nail gun for this project. Since I was paying a premium for the hardwood plywood ($45 per sheet) I did not want to mess it up with hammerhead marks. OMG! I have wasted a TON of time on past projects!!! I wish I purchased an nail gun years ago! It is quick and makes almost invisible holes. Here is a link to the Bostitch Nail Gun & Compressor kit I purchased. Two thumbs up in my book. It has since been used a lot without a single jam***knock on wood***

Step 5 - HVAC Vents

Not everybody will need to perform this step. The breakfast nook had two HVAC vents - one supply duct and one return duct (you can see both hvac vents in the pictures in Step 3). On the left side of the nook was the return duct. These are easy. They do not require any special treatment. Since they are just pulling untreated air back to the HVAC system it can pull air from the whole area under the bench. So all I did was use my jig saw to cut the area and place my new vent to allow air into the bench cavity.

However the supply side is a totally different story. The air coming out of your supply register has been treated (heated or cooled) and it costs money to treat this air! You do not want to waste it inside the cabinet. Therefore I needed to extend the wall register to the air vent I placed on the bench itself. Luckily for me I work for RJ Murray (the local Carrier HVAC Distributor) and one of our fabulous customers made me exactly what I needed:

Custom fabricated duct work extension
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The duct work extension installed

In the above picture, if you look carefully you can see another important part of any home project...having the whole family (including the dog) sign your work before you cover it up with more wood or paint...fun!

Duct work complete

Step 6 - Floor Boards and Trim

I added 6" tall floor molding and some quarter round to trim the bottom of the bench. I finally got to use my sliding compound miter saw on this project.  Best.Investment.Ever. The sliding option is sooooo important when doing floor molding. It allows the long (wider) boards to be cut in one smooth step.

Step 7 - The Top

Using my circular saw guides discussed above I was able to cover the whole top with only 4 separate pieces of hardwood plywood.

Step 8 - Making the Top Stronger & Thicker

The 3/4" plywood is plenty sturdy for the box, but I was concerned with the 5 inch over hang. This 5" overhang is important for many reasons: 1) It looks nicer to have an overhang than to just have the tops and sides meet - then you would have a box - not a bench. 2) the overhang is more comfortable when sitting. This way your knees go over the overhang and then you have some space for your feet to swing back before they hit the bottom of the bench. It is a more natural sitting position.

I tested the overhang and it was plenty strong and really did not need additional support, but I planned all along to add the extra strength and wanted the front edge of the top to have a meatier look. Therefore I attached 1/2"x4" poplar boards to the bottom of the edge with wood glue and nails, making sure my seams did not line up with the seams on the plywood - adding strength to the seams. You can see in the picture to the right.



Here is a look at the poplar boards from underneath:

Step 9 - Trim the Front Edge of the Top

As you can see from the above picture in Step 8 the front face of the top would not look nice when painted as is. Multiple materials and plywood layers...so I added a bull nosed edging to the front with glue and small nails. I metered them for a finished look.

Front edge trim work

Step 10 - Crown Molding

I added crowning molding to the underside. It really gave the underside a nice finished look. You will need to wait until the After Photos below to see the crown molding.

Step 11 - Sand and Filler

Since I was painting the bench I used paintable caulk to fill any imperfections (yes there may have been one or two!!!) or small gaps. Big Hint - when doing a wood working project it is important to know if you are going to paint or stain the finished product. Paint hides A LOT! You have to be much more careful when staining. You need to know what species of wood your are using. They all absorb stain differently. You could end up with an uneven finish if you are not careful. Also all your cuts and mitered corners have to be that much better when staining. Any filler could be be noticeable.

Then I sanded the whole bench with my orbital sander to smooth out any seams.

Filled and sanded - ready for paint.

Step 12 - Paint

I painted the bench the same way I painted the Butler's Pantry. Once again here are the steps I used:

• 1 coat of Benjamin Moore primer
• Two coats of Benjamin Moore White Dove (satin finish) on all the shelving, dividers, cabinet doors and face of the Butler's Pantry. I used their ADVANCE Waterborne Interior Alkyd Paint. It self levels much better to a smooth finish. Brush strokes are barely noticeable.
• To protect all the bench tops - I used 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic.

IMPORTANT - The reason you MUST use polycrylic instead of a a polyurethane, is because a polyurethane has a amber finish to it. You do not want to use polyurethane on something you painted white! It will turn off-white or worse. The polycrylic goes on cloudy, but dries to a crystal clear hard finish.

The After Pictures

You can see the crown molding in the above and below pictures

Luke horsing around...

Sometimes I still cannot believe I made this. It was definitely one of my most ambitious projects...that is until I made the slate patio a month later!!!

We love the bench...and the whole room now. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the breakfast bench. It is much more cozy and intimate than eating at the dining room table. Each night the family just slides into our own personal diner booth and talk about the day....except when we have baseball or softball or swimming or school concert or ice cream social...then all bets are off!

This Old House Contest - Breakfast Nook Bench & Butler's Pantry

I watch and read This Old House (and Ask This Old House) every chance I get. I dvr the episodes and watch them during any down time to get inspiration and to get the nerve to make a change!

I don't usually enter the contests, but it was a rainy Saturday morning and I couldn't work outside (yet), so I was surfing the web. One of my favorites is ThisOldHouse.com. I was just clicking away and saw the contest link. I figured the kids are still asleep and it is raining...so what the heck.

Link to Entry

I decided to enter The Breakfast Nook Bench in their Woodworking category. The website said it received my entry and they would post it after the editors have had an opportunity to review my entry. Today they posted my entry on their website! Whether I win or not, I got to admit it was fun to see my handy-work on their website! If you get a chance - visit this link to rate my entry. It is called Bench for Breakfast Nook - John S. Niskayuna, NY.

A little added enticement to visit the above link is I have yet to reveal the finished product on this blog yet, so you will get a sneak peek at The Butler's Pantry and Breakfast Nook Bench.


I believe there is also a chance that some of the entries may appear in a Fall issue of This Old House. Now that would be really cool! ***fingers crossed***

Are there wood floors under there?...Breakfast Nook Floor - Before & After

Original linoleum and some wallpaper remnants

After finishing the patio, I have taken a well deserved break from projects this past week. Therefore, I'll go back to a past project- the Breakfast Nook/Butler's Pantry posts. The first entry showed the Moravian Light I brought back from the dead and converted into a pendent light. The next item I tackled was the butler's pantry itself, but since you can see the wood floors in the after pictures - I will write about how I restored the wood floors instead. This means I have to go out of chronological order (which if you share my Type A personality - you know it is driving me crazy...but I have to do it).

The kitchen and breakfast nook share the exact same floor...which is not good for either of them! The kitchen floor is over 2 times larger than the nook, so I figured I would use the nook as my practice floor. Actually the whole nook restoration is a practice run for the kitchen, because almost the exact same changes need to happen in both - just in a larger scale.

When we first walked through the house the obligatory home buyer question was asked "Do you think there are wood floors under there?" Extremely dirty looking and permanently stained - it is safe to say the floors were in rough shape - even before Karen started chipping away at various areas to get the answer to our question. Her archaeological digs (those first few days in our new house!) determined there were wide plank pine floors under the layers of linoleum, felt, plywood and tar paper. In the picture to the left you can see her handy work at the corner of the swinging door. She also did a larger area hidden underneath the runner (to protect us from splinters) at the top of the picture. We lived with these areas for 6+ months until I started this project in January.

Her work was not for naught. The rest of our house has very nice oak wood floors, but Paul Schaefer was known for his use of wide plank floors...so we were excited to see the wide planks, knowing we could bring back some authenticity. Even so I was honestly not looking forward to the job at all. I did a similar process at the old house and it was no fun at all. When it comes to getting that tar paper off the floor there are two schools of thought:

1. Sand it off - using a new sanding disk every square foot or so (the tar fills in the grit making the sandpaper useless real fast)
2. Use hot water and a hand scraper and get ready to get mucky!...this is the way I go....if anyone else has used the sanding method with success please let me know!!!

Restoring Your Wood Floors

Step 1 - Remove the Linoleum

No pictures, but the linoleum removed pretty easily with a heavy duty floor clean up scraper. I just repeatedly slammed that in between the linoleum and the plywood and peeled up the linoleum.

Step 2 - Remove the Plywood

removing the plywood revealed the tar paper

Gloves and a face mask a must. My knee pads would have been nice, too. A mixture of hammers, screwdrivers, crowbars, floors scrapers and good ole brute force were able to remove the plywood, felt and any remaining nails. So many nails!

Use any means possible to get the old stuff up

Step 3 - Removing the Tar Paper

Tar Paper/Tar stuck to the beautiful wood - how sad

After 75+ years the tar figured it had squatter's rights to the pine boards. For some silly reason I thought I would try various "products" you can get at the hardware store to make this process easier. I'll save you some time and a lot of effort...don't try any of them. None of them help. I returned them all for a refund. By the end of day one - I was shot. My back was killing. I decided to stop and that Sunday would be another day. I would go back to my tried and true hot water method.

Hot Water Method of Removing Tar Paper

• Boil water in the tea kettle
• Pour scolding hot water in a 5 gallon pail
• Dip 4 old beach towels into pail
• Pick up a towel (with thick rubber gloves - they are hot!)
• Let excess water drip back into pail
• Lay towels over the floors in a single layer
• Wait 15 minutes
• Pick up the towels
• Scape the floor boards with a 2 inch paint scraper
• Repeat above steps 2 more times until most of the tar is gone.

Using this method is tedious, you are on your hands and knees for hours, back breaking, wet, dirty, sloppy, gooey work. Sounds fun right?! (Seeing the mess I was making, I did here the kids say, "how come you get all the fun."...really!?) When it is all said and done, I probably touched every inch of wood on that floor 8-12 times...2 inches at a time! I really may need to revisit the sanding option for the bigger kitchen floor.

Funny thing is after all that hard work you are left with a floor that is tar free but does not look very nice (see above). But don't fret. They will still look great when you are done. Keep reading on!

Imagine scraping every inch with this 8-12 times!

Step 4 - Sand the Floor

After sanding - they are starting to look like something

All that water will raise the grain of the wood, plus the wood will have many uneven spots and little remnants of tar. So sanding is still necessary. I used a 5 inch orbital sander we have owned for 10 years. About half way through the sanding it broke...wood floors is not really its intended purpose. I did go out and buy another 5 inch orbital to finish the job (they are used on so many projects!). In my last post I mentioned how one of the benefits of doing your own work is being able to buy new tools...however, that same excitement does not exist when you are buying a new tool to replace the one you just broke.

Step 5 - Stain the Floor & Polyethylene

Start light - you can always go darker. That was Karen's and my mantra when it came to the floors. We thought about having light pine boards, but had an inkling based on past experience with restoring woods floors that had been abused by nails, tar and the like that we would eventually end up dark. We were never going for pristine. We wanted the rustic wood floors. Our house has an Adirondack rustic feel from the outside, so having non-perfect wide planks floors would fit in just right.

Light stain did not do the job...too uneven.

With that said, I first applied a pre-stain conditioner that is supposed to help even out the stains absorption into soft woods. Then I applied a light stain and decided we would live with it for a few days to see what we thought....my initial thought was - we are going dark. This light stain was way too uneven.

So then I went to my local Benjamin Moore dealer and talked to them about some ideas I had in my head. As with most stains, you apply the stain, wait a few minutes and then wipe off the stain. I was noticing as I started going darker, everything looked fine when applied, but once I wiped the stain off all the unevenness reappeared. So I had used a PolyShade product on my last kitchen. It is a polyurethane and stain all in one. The big difference here is you apply it and leave it to dry. So it covers imperfections better (uneven color, nail holes, etc). Our last kitchen's floor looked fantastic for 5 years or so, before we started getting wear spots at the heavy use areas (in front of the sink, etc.). This is because the PolyShade does not penetrate the wood. So over time it has the potential to wear out.

These are what I used

My idea this time, was even though the directions say All in One - I would still cover the whole floor with 3 additional coats of real polyurethane as if I had stained it. I talked with the folks at Benjamin Moore about whether my plan should give me the coverage I was looking for without getting wear patterns over the years and they assured me I was on to something. They suggested I go with a good Polyurethane. They said this brand (pictured right) is stronger than most. The only down side is it is only allowed to be sold in Quarts.They can sell me 4 quarts, but they are not allowed to sell a gallon. Nonsensical.

So with that, I applied the Mission Oak PolyShade and three coats of Satin poly with a Lambs Wool applicator (very important).

Staining Process

• Apply a pre-stain conditioner - especially if you are staining a soft wood.
• Apply your stain according to directions. Stains get wiped off after waiting a few minutes. PolyStains do not get wiped off.
• Wait for the stain to dry.
• Apply a second coat if you want a deeper color  (I went with one coat)
• Apply polyurethane according to directions - I used a lambs wool applicator
• After it dries lightly sand with a very fine sandpaper
• Wipe off sanding dust with tack cloth
• Apply 2nd and 3rd coats of poly following the same steps. Do not sand after your final coat.

If everything was done right you should end up with something like this! Better than I ever imagined!

The floors still look great 3 months later (as they should). After some real life use they do look more satin than semi-gloss as the above picture suggests. We LOVE the floor!

The nice part is when restoring on a budget this project cost practically nothing!...as long as you do the work yourself.

• Sanding disks for orbital sander - $5
• PolyShade - $13
• Poly - 2 quarts - $16
• Lambs wool applicator - $8 (refills are cheaper if doing future jobs)

The best $42 you will ever spend!...of course I had to buy a new orbital, but that will be used for years to come.

It should go to show you no matter what your wood floors look, like they can be saved! Especially if you are willing to go a little rustic. A rustic real wood floor beats a new vinyl, linoleum or (most) laminates any day! Go for it!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little...

Up till now I have only posted about the outside of the house. In keeping with my promise from my last entry - here is the first tidbit of inside restoration. I chose to write about this mini-restoration because I had never repaired/converted a light before and am happy and proud of the results.

The first time we walked through the house with our realtor, Glenda Lewis of Coldwell Banker (btw - she also helped us buy, and then 8 years later sell, our first house too), Karen and I noticed a little treasure in the basement. It was a Moravian Star 'light.' I put quotes around 'light' because I really had never seen a set-up like this before. I'm not positive if it was really ever intended to be used as a ceiling fixture.
It was screwed into a light bulb receptacle and was rigged with an old-time adapter that was falling apart. The light was literally dangling from the wires. It was suppose to be fixed in location, but would wobble and sway if you touched it. It was so dirty you could not see through the glass. It goes without saying...it did not work...and needless to say...Karen and I wanted it!...and hoped it would be there if/when we closed. The day we closed I went downstairs and removed this dangerous future beauty from the receptacle. It made me nervous to  have it in the kids playroom. I had plans for the light!

This pretty fluorescent light can be yours just for asking
...really if you want it just leave a comment

Our breakfast nook had a hideous fluorescent light fixture. The type with a metallic plastic square grid diffuser. You know the type you find in a doctor's office or in a school. I can understand it being there since the previous longtime owners utilized the room as a second office. However for us it was a MUST go! In its place I wanted to clean up and repair the Moravian Light and covert it to a hanging chained pendant light.

You can see the holes left by the florescent fixture
and a little bit of the original wallpaper in the nook

It honestly took longer to clean the light than to convert it. I probably spent 2 hours cleaning all the various glass surfaces inside and out. As for the conversion to a pendant lamp - that was simple. I purchased a clear lamp cord, some satin nickel linked chain, a ceiling light canopy and a black light bulb socket at my local hardware store. I spray painted the canopy satin nickel. I then slipped the lamp cord through the top hole of the star and spliced the cord to the socket. I secured the socket into one of the points of the star. The rest of the process of hanging the light was similar to any other light fixture change out. Weaving the cord through the chain, connecting the cord to the wires in the ceiling, attaching the canapy to the ceiling light box, etc. I finished it with a clear bulb. I really do have tons of CFL's in my house - almost every possible light, but this light had to have a clear 60 watts.  The CFL's - even the ones that have a bulb shape - just looked too out of place.

After Picture - Part 1 - Pre Breakfast Nook Renovation

The light has a great old look to it when off, but is in all its glory when you turn on the light. the shadows cast on the walls and ceilings from the light are fantastic.

Original After Picture - Straight chain
Pre Breakfast Nook Renovation - more wallpaper

After Pictures - Part 2 - Post Breakfast Nook Renovation

As part of the Breakfast Nook Renovation I took the light fully apart and used a longer lamp cord and longer chain in order to center the light over the table with a little swooping dip and a simple screw-in hook into the ceiling. I'll probably change the hook with something decorative or older looking when I find what I am looking for.

What a tease! Sorry but this is the only portion of the breakfast nook renovation you get to see...in this post...at least you can see we repaired the holes in the ceiling, removed the wallpaper and painted! The Breakfast Nook is now complete and waiting to be unveiled so look for more posts in the future.

Prior to us there have been two families that have lived in this house for decades each. This house is still known in the neighborhood as their house. No problem since from all accounts they were a wonderful family, however, hopefully we are working on it becoming the Splendido's House. With that said, one of their sons came by the house with his family to drop off some very old papers (some very cool old facts about the house...I'll share in a future post). He saw the work we were doing in the nook and noticed the light. He was so glad to see the light being used as a main component of the house again. It turns out the light used to be in his grandmother's house originally and then his parents used it in in this house. We still do not know exactly how old the light is, but it is safe to say it is over 50 years old...perhaps much more.

So cool

I really love the shadows the Moravian Star casts on the ceiling and walls. I was worried it would be annoying when eating at the table, but you really do not notice the shadow effect when sitting below the light.

The nice thing about this little project is I could have bought similar Moravian light online for $100-$500. This one cost under $15 in parts and it doesn't just look old, it really is an antique...and best yet...I did the work myself.