Before I started taking apart my television entertainment unit in order to turn it into a bench I took some measurements. About 10 times. I needed to make absolutely sure it was the right width, depth and height to make the conversion of the bottom section into a bench.

The plan was to cut the two sides and the middle division above the drawers. The section over the top of the drawers would serve as the surface for the bench. This measured to be 15.5 inches high so it  would not be high enough on it’s own. All the benches that I had been looking at ranged from 17 to 18 inches high. The addition of a 3 inch foam cushion would bring the height back up to 18.5 inches,  perfect seating height for a table.

The depth of the unit at 22.25 inches at the base was a little deeper than I wanted. The back of the piece is flush but the base has trim which juts out a bit. I got over that pretty quickly since the table will cover that. Plus there is the whole “this is free and I’m getting rid of a piece that I’m starting to hate” thing. 

The width of the soon to be bench is also a little more that I’d planned for. I wanted a bench that was 60 inches wide. The base of the unit measures 64 inches wide. The top of the bench would measure 61.5 inches wide. All that means is that my pantry cabinet door will not swing all the way open. It still opens enough that I can get everything that I need in and out of it. I practiced to make sure.

So once the measurements were taken and retaken and then retaken maybe once or twice more I started emptying 10 years of items out of my unit. I’m talking cassettes and VHS tapes. The television and cable box and routers were all untangled and moved to the coffee table for now. I unscrewed all the doors, shelves and the tv stand inside until I was left with the bare bones unit. And yes, the bottom half of Dolly the dog photo-bombed this shot.

Up next… demolition day!