Building a built-in

I always felt that our entryway was lacking, missing that something to give it the Victorian Era charm it deserves. The staircase and stained glass window are a good start but it feels like it should be even more dressed up. I convinced my husband of this and he began building the built-in bench that I designed. The bench is in this little corner in front of the the second set of stairs. I wanted to move the duct work and grate off the floor and into the bench, and he didn't disappoint. Next to the grate is an area to add baskets for storage. The next step is for me to add the boards for the seat, trim it out and paint it up. I am reusing as much of the wood and trim work as possible. The top of the bench will be made from the planks that were once the landings on the staircase. We had to remove them once we realized that there was no sub floor under them, they were supported by one 2x4 in the middle and much smaller boards on the sides. They are not made of oak, but much softer pine, so it didn't take much discussion before I agreed to allow Bryan to replace the landings also.

The stairs and landings were covered with layers of glue, linoleum, and gunk, which I sanded off.

Before the sanding:

After sanding:

I love the distressed patina of the wood and will be leaving it.