Two weeks ago, Matt and I went down to my sister's house to build her a built in bench. My sister found exactly what she wanted on THIS blog. We pretty much copied that tutorial, so just refer to that blog post if you want to see more in depth photos and explanations.
Here is the space before:
The construction process:
Matt built a frame out of 2x4's.
Then he cut the bench top out of 3/4" MDF.
He attached the 2x4 frame to the wall by screwing grabber screws into the wall studs. He attached the bench top to the frame with special screws that drill deep enough into the MDF that you can patch the hole (I'm not sure of the proper name for them.)
Then he added some board and batten and added trim to the front.
The shelf at the top is about 7 inches deep. Just deep enough to display some cute holiday decor...
My sister spent the next few days patching holes, sanding, and caulking.
Then she painted and added some hooks!
It turned out awesome! Now she just needs some cute pillows and the shelf decorated.