DIY CAT SHELF / Plant Shelf / Window Sill Shelf Extension (Give Cats And Plants A Place To Sit!)

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A window sill shelf gives you more room for plants and decorations--and, of course, cats! This short video from The Honest Carpenter will show you how to build and install your own window sill shelf extension with a minimum of material and labor. This is a perfect cat shelf / plant shelf! Give your cat a place to perch :)
Typical window sills (or "stools") are only 3-5" deep. This window sill shelf extension is 9" deep, about the depth of your average book shelf.
Tool List:
Tape Measure
Circular Saw OR Jigsaw Or Coping Saw
Drill
Router (optional)
Material List:
1x10 pre-primed pine
3" screws
Caulk
Liquid Nails
Primer/Paint
Cat Shelf / Plant Shelf / Window Sill Shelf Extension How-To:
1) Measure existing window sill. Add 1" to each end for overhang.
2) Mark center of existing sill
3) Cut pre-prime stock to desired measurement with circular saw or jig saw.
4) Mark center of window sill shelf extension piece.
5) Bring piece inside and mark notches for mullions or separations.
6) Measure depth of window bays. Note measurements on board.
7) Plot and cut notches for mullions and separations.
8) If necessary, cut out lower ends of window side casings
9) Slide window sill shelf extension into place. If necessary, cut to make piece fit more tightly.
10) Spread liquid nails in zig-zag pattern on existing window sill. Press new window sill shelf firmly down into place.
11) Pre-drill and countersink screw locations at center of window bays. Drive screws through window sill shelf and original sill, into rough opening framing.
12) Tape, caulk, prime and paint
13) Introduce your cats to the cat shelf / plants to the plant shelf!
That's how you build a window sill cat shelf / plant shelf extension! If you have any questions, feel free to put them down in the comments section.
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[@mary78880]

Perfect! Exactly what I was looking for. I dont think I'll cut the window casing as our home was built in 1921 and i dont have the heart to make such a permanent change to original wood trim

[@ameer8966]

Excellent guide. My wife is going to be thrilled when she can return all of her recently repotted plants to the window. Thank you.

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Good to hear, Ameer! I’ve always loved this solution. 🙂

[@kimberleerivera7062]

What a big difference a wider window sill makes - beautiful! That looks classy! Thank you!

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thank you, Kimberlee!

[@TheLovelyMissBeans]

Nice! Just what I was looking for! Our new house has a loose sill in the front window anyway and since the windiw sets in its own sort of shallow alcove, I thought a faux window seat would be awesome, and the cats WOULD in fact love that view of the neighborhood. Thanks for going through the process and tools used.

[@LisaLubin]

Did this for three of my windows which had VERY shallow sills. Thank you so much for this easy-to-follow and straight forward DIY project. My plants and cat are happy now! :D

[@smw11cat]

Thank you for this! I want to extend the sill so that my cats have a place to sun bathe without the window having to be open for them to have enough space to lay down. There will be happy cats in the nearish future

[@the0eldest]

While replacing a window sill I decided I wanted a few extra inches. I had come to the same conclusion about screws being the best choice but was unsure how many to go with. Glad to see someone else do it first, so I don't have to go too crazy with screws.

[@suzannelevy6723]

Thanks for explaining this I’m wanting to do this for my cats!

[@bijouxw1014]

Thanks for the great video. I want to make an extended sill for my plants in a bathroom and still be able to lower & close my blinds, so this helpful.

[@Mishusa1102]

LOVE THIS! Thanks so much for sharing these instructions!

[@GaiaCarney]

Great idea, Honest Carpenter 💛Thanks for creating & sharing this video

[@lauriesouthard517]

Thank you for this easy to follow video! I now feel ready to DIY this project.

[@zero450571]

just the guide i was looking for, thank you

[@kevindrevik7351]

Very cute idea! While it doesn't work for my house, it will be nice to use in another one at some time.

[@raygallagher905]

how wonderful! i should do this for the twin double hungs in my office !

[@FelineJungle]

Great idea! for cat and plant lovers like me!

[@MIA-lu6pp]

I love it! I need to make one to use for my plants.

[@brittanywood1760]

This video is perfect for what I needed to do! Thank you!!

[@fatblue2355]

That shelf is so cool

[@spiritualsarver2125]

Great content with some helpful tips! Thanks for sharing!

[@davidwade8194]

You are awesome! I am binge watching your videos. Thank you for all the great tips and tutorials.

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

You’re welcome, David! Thanks so much for watching. More coming every week 🙂

[@feliciafelicia6965]

My plants will love you for this!.

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Glad to hear it Felicia! 😁

[@kengoodwin459]

I’d love a video on Router tips & tricks!

[@ijonicus]

Excellent tutorial!

[@janetang8684]

This video is so helpful ! Thanks So much!!!

[@jamiespruce4547]

Excellent video!

[@KH-qj6er]

Really good video! Thanks!

[@sydneyramsdell9791]

freakin awesome. Thank you. window sills made simple.

[@KJfreshh69]

My window sill casings have designs on them like the normal casing standard in homes. I wish I could take them off and just put some 1x4s around it

[@edover50]

Nice work Ethan. Keep the videos coming

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thanks Ed!

[@TranTheClever]

I’ve never seen a floating shelf made this way, I love it! Thank you for all the woodworking tips, great for beginners like me. 4:59

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

You’re welcome Tran!

[@19Photographer76]

Nicely done!

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Dave Dube Thank you! I appreciate you watching 🙂

[@bel.cascabel]

Hey! Really cool video! I want to make this project with my windows too but don't know how to finish the wood's surface. Do you have a video on that?

[@sharonzapotocky9973]

Great project! Well explained.

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thank you, Sharon! 🙂

[@gitarman666]

Scribe it in using a compass it easily copies every variation of depth and square

[@samueldouglas8623]

You made this look easy enough for me to try, and I've always wanted deeper windowsills for my cats. I have a problem, though. From the top of my existing window sill to the edge of the window opening is only 7/16ths of an inch. What kind of wood could I use?

[@CekodokPisangSedap]

very well explanation & demo!

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thank you, Anis! I appreciate the feedback :)

[@katieackerman1670]

Thanks for this! Really nice to watch and should help me with a triple window "sill" I'm doing. Using reclaimed doug fir and need to route out the part on the sill so it will sit under my window cranks, so that's the real bear, but I really appreciate your middle marker tip--hopefully it goes well!

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

You’re welcome, Katie! Good luck! Those window cranks are always annoying 😆

[@Bill.R.124]

OMG> I need to hire someone to do this! Sacramento.

[@mirzaramirez2972]

¡Gracias! 😊👍

[@Enrique2k52]

Brilliant!!!, thank you

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thank you, Enri! 😄

[@gabrielmcateer790]

Thank you for the video! What would you suggest if the original sill that you want to cover is marble?

[@leslybgood]

I was so glad *you* had a video on this your vids are always clear and concise. I have marble sills. Should I remove it or use a hammer drill to pre drill through the marble? Maybe liquid nails would be enough or add support underneath?

[@davestanley357]

Awesome

[@gingerlauderback5066]

Our windows don’t have side casings, but we would like to add them. I found this video while searching for a way to extend the sill left and right since it’s currently too short for side casings. I think this would work, but I’m wondering if there is a way to also cover the old sill so it doesn’t show from the front (some of our windows are higher and it would be obvious there are two sills). Thanks! :)

[@briankrueger1142]

Very nice.

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Brian Krueger Thank you!

[@franklin1849]

I watch every video 👍🏻

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thanks Franklin! I’ll keep them coming 🙂

[@franklin1849]

The Honest Carpenter thank you! I’m starting a handyman business and I’m learning a lot thanks to your videos

[@stevet5238]

good video

[@PRichard70]

If I wanted to use solid surface instead of a pine board and paint, would I need the three screws in addition to the construction adhesive? Maybe I can figure out a way to cover the screws without paint and caulk...

[@scottr8588]

Great video and idea. i recently bought one of these Makita magnesium circular saws. If you think about it, next time you make a video using the rip guide, could you go into detail on how that is used and installed. Happy father's Day

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

@Scott R Thank you! I'm getting some shop space soon, and I'm going to start doing some general tool tutorials. I'll definitely talk about the rip fence in the circ saw video :)

[@susanevans1294]

Do you have any ideas for apartment dwellers for a removable shelf?

[@preeview9]

Thanks for this! I'm curious if you have suggestions about how to support these without using adhesive, so that they're removable down the line if I were to want to restore my original wood sills. Would you recommend removing the existing sills and replacing them completely? Would installing some kind of wood bracket support be a good idea in this case?

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

The screws down through the stool framing will be strong enough for most things, preeview

[@w.a.z.5561]

Beautiful work! Do you think this principle would work to extend the top of an old built-in corner tv cabinet? I want to make my slightly wider flat screen fit rather than tear down the built ins or use up floor space with another tv stand or make holes on the wall for a wall mount swing arm. I'm imagining something like a mantel that would extend the front of the cabinet top just enough for the base of my tv to sit on and quasi "float" in front of the cabinet shelves. Thanks for any suggestions!

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thank you WAZ! I would maybe worry about it getting overbalanced to the front and tipping. But if it seems like it'll be stable, it might work!

[@cassaundraspann-2qshab516]

Great job!! Love this! It seems as if you have trim underneath the window sill, did you remove them before adding the extension?

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Thanks Cassaundra! Nope, I just left it there. It’s down below eye level, and can only add extra support at this point. Most important thing is to make sure you’re fastening down into sill framing 🙂

[@kbenk108]

is it strong enough to support someone sitting on it?

[@homeandgardendiy6363]

What do you suggest when it is clear that an existing window sill tips downward from the outside edge in toward the bottom of the window? Should that old still be removed, or can something be used to shim (I doubt that's the right word) the inside edge of the window sill before the new still is added? Thank you in advance for your help!

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

If the old sill is titled but very firm abs stable, I think you can just shim up the new one, Home and Garden. You can prob use wood or composite shims.Just make sure you drive a screw down tight into the framing beneath both the sills!

[@homeandgardendiy6363]

Thank you so much for taking time to answer. 😁

[@vincemucci2506]

Wanted to do this in my kitchen, going to be Tricky since i have Andersen windows with handle controls

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Those things can definitely get in the way Vince. This may reduce your clearance too much. But, where there's a will, there's a way!

[@hiseminencetheholymacdiarmada]

Why do you leave the old stool in? I am getting ready to replace two that my dog chewed the corners of and I. Was just curious why you would not remove the old one first.

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Hey john, it cuts down on demo and time and creates just a tiny bit more support

[@Alex-go6os]

Why do you need to notch the window casings? Why not just cut a notch in the new sill to fit around it?

[@aztcsoul]

What about adding a window sill to one that doesn't have one?

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

@aztcsoul It's actually a fairly similar process. As long as you have a bit of a horizontal ledge there, you could probably tackle it much the same way

[@snoww2009]

Is it safe to stand on the extension?

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

@Snow G I'd say there's a chance it would hold a person, but I would probably avoid it

[@devynbarnard1962]

You didn’t remove the previous window sill?

[@jobacuda4472]

No. It helps support the new one.

[@freakyplayz2863]

First

[@louindorato6855]

Turn up the volume lol

[@homeandgardendiy6363]

I agree! Great video, though!!

[@ccdogpark]

Cal me crazy but I would have included the words "catwalk" and/or "cat" in the video name so more people could find this video via the KZbin search engine. You have to search for the video yourself via the search engine to see how easy it is to find. It is MUCH better to have too many keywords in the video name than too few.

[@roy24430]

Very low volume

[@TheHonestCarpenter]

Roy Smith sorry about that. I’m dealing with very limited recording gear and I can’t afford anything better at the moment. My playbacks are sometimes unreliable. Making free content has gotten extremely expensive 😪