When Dr Jen Barcroft’s father suggested Jali for their bench seating project, the family had no idea that you could bring a design to life by simply ordering custom MDF shapes.

The finished bench – pretty in pink

Jali had previously created a set of custom-made wardrobes for their house. Jen’s father, Tony, was impressed by the ability to customise sizes, and the quality/value for money vs ready-made wardrobes. Realising that the bench needed to fit perfectly into a 3 metre long wall, as well as providing storage space beneath the hinged seat, the Barcrofts knew nothing “off the shelf” would work. They needed a custom solution.

In comes Jali, to the rescue!

MDF Shapes ready for assembly

During the initially chat with Jali, it was suggested that Jali MDF shapes would be the way to go. As Tony said, once the Jali people explained this,

It was just amazingly simple: they helped us create a set of custom shapes that we could put together to create the bench seating we wanted, like a jigsaw puzzle.

So, Jen and Tony set about designing the shapes. Jen found that the overall dimensions were easy to do, since they knew what length, depth and height they wanted, but a discussion over email with the Jali folks was also “really, really helpful”. Once ordered, the shapes were duly cut by Jali – exactly to sizes required – and delivered in good time. Tony, with help from Jen’s partner, screwed all the shapes together to make the bench seat.

The bench takes shape!

It seems that construction of the bench seat was very manageable. At 3m long, some pieces were quite heavy, but two people made light work of the project. All that was needed was a 5mm drill, some screws that worked well with MDF, and a set of metre long brass piano hinges for the hinged seat (from Toolstation).

Seating is installed with hinges

The whole project was completed in just a matter of weeks, but what about the price? With an initial budget of £1,000 for the bench seat, Jen was absolutely delighted that using Jali cost just £600 including delivery, screws and hinges (being a wonderful father, Tony’s help was free!)

Custom seating and storage

It’s great to see bespoke MDF shapes used in unique ways to solve interior design problems, and we’re really pleased to have helped Jen’s family achieve the bench seating they wanted in their lovely house in Kensal Rise, West London. Jen reports that:

So many people who have visited our house have commented on how clever the bench seating is for looks and storage.

All round to Kensal Rise for dinner then! Do you have a project you could use MDF Shapes for?