Need Help With Island Design

[Greg Heppeard]

I have to build an island for a master closet and the customer wants fold down seats on each end of it to use when putting on shoes, clipping nails , etc. I've been running options through my head for the last couple of months, but haven't really come up with anything that I think would be sturdy enough or hold up to any type of normal abuse. Anybody have any suggestions????? The island will be made of knotty alder with raised panel doors and ends. I also have to keep in mind the fold away ironing board that will be put in place of a drawer.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's an idea based on a folding seat I've seen on a railway car in England. The seat is hinged to the wall (or the island in your case). The seat hinge has a torsion spring in it, so that the seat folds up against the wall unless somebody is actively pulling it down. There's a brace under the seat. It is hinged to the wall at the bottom. The joint between the brace and the seat is a sliding one, and there's a stop so that the brace can't slide any more when the seat gets down to its horizontal position.

The one I saw was metal. But you could make it from wood.

[Jamie Buxton]

Is there room inside the island? If so, here's a different way to make the seat.

Make the seat hinged, like in my previous post. Lose the brace. Instead, there would be a stick fastened firmly to the seat. There is a slot in the side of the island. When the seat is stowed, the stick goes straight down, almost to the floor. When the seat pivots down into its working position, the stick pivots up into the slot. When the seat gets down to horizontal, the stick hits a stop inside the island.

[Jamie Buxton]

If there is room inside the island, here's a third way, somewhat like the second one. In this, the support arm is mostly hidden inside the island, so it is not particularly obvious. Furthermore, it can act as a counterbalance for the seat. With the correct weight on it, it will keep the seat in the stowed position, and you won't need a spring-loaded hinge, which would be difficult to source.

Actually, if you do it just right, the seat will be stable in the down position and the up position!