2. Bay Window Seat. The bay window seat, designed with a coastal theme in mind, is wonderfully spacious, providing ample room ...

This week, we explored ways to design a window seat. A deep bay, alcove or an empty corner under a window creates an opportunity for a built-in bench and storage, also called a window seat.

The window seat depth from front to back is also important. Make it too shallow or deep and it can be uncomfortable. The preferred depth should fall somewhere between 17 and 22 inches.

The first step in building a window seat is to determine how big it should be. You want the seat to be big enough to provide adequate storage space, but you also want it to be comfortable to sit on.

Even an inexperienced do-it-yourselfer should have no problem building a simple window seat that is strong enough to support children.(monkeybusinessimages / Getty Images/iStockphoto) Q: I could ...