Making a folding bench?

[Nanako]

Hi all, my home lacks a central communal area, but ive noticed in the past when ive had a few tenants, we all tended to congregate in the hallway, and there's a perfect spot for a wall mounted seat, above the shoe rack. The width of the space available is 104cm, which should be juuust enough to fit two people who aren't fussy about personal space. I have masonry drilling experience, and some 12x120mm plugs and screws, which should be sturdy enough to hold the weight of two people, (THEYRE HUGE)

I don't want a permanant seat, it'd be used only occasionally, so i want it to fold up against the wall when not in use. I can't simply have a normal chair because a shoe rack underneath takes up the floor space in an approximately 60x60cm tall and deep box, this thing needs to have no legs on it, be supported entirely by the wall.

The remaining factors then, are the materials and parts. On this point i'm in need of guidance

I don't know whether to buy some kind of premade unit, or to buy seperate bracket/hinge things and pieces of wood or metal to form the seating surface. some kind of cushioning for the seat and lower back might be nice, but i'm not sure what is feasible here. Something like the scotrail folding seats (attached image) would be nice. The size and equivilant capacity of two of those seats side by side

though its not incredibly important, i think having a single long bench would be preferable to two smaller seats
But anyways, the bottom line of my requirements are:

-A fold-up seat that is held down by the weight of the sitter, and folds up flat against the wall when not in use
-No legs, held entirely by the wall
-Able to support the weight of two people. Lets say 250kg weight capacity for safety
-While weight capacity is the primary concern, cost is the second, i'd prefer to spend as little as possible
-Time is a very distant concern, i have no real timeline for this, maybe doing it sometime this year would be nice

how might i accomplish this?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Why do people congregate in your hallway and so much so that they need seating? Or am I missing something?

 

[big-all]

another point

tennants----hallway---fire exit
blocking a fire escape can lead to very bad results in case off a fire with possible criminal charges

that aside self retracting seats will probably be in the hundreds per seat

 

[foxhole]

Two sheets of timber and two hinges.Nice and simple .

 

[Deluks]

Make the seat part of the shoe rack.
The shoe rack is already occupying the space, having a hard flat top on it won't stop it from being a shoe rack.

Something like this should be easy to replicate.

https://www.wayfair.co.uk/furniture/pdp/ebern-designs-kiron-storage-bench-u100121647.html

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

how might i accomplish this?

Move into a railway carriage!

Fit a stairlift, the seats usually fold out of the way.

 

[Nanako]

Why do people congregate in your hallway and so much so that they need seating? Or am I missing something?

My hallway is S shaped, the front door is at the tip of the S, and both guest bedrooms are up near the front. The corner where we congregate is the first bend, it is right next to both bedroom doors, and people tend to stand in their doorways and chat when getting home from work

 

[Nanako]

Make the seat part of the shoe rack.
The shoe rack is already occupying the space, having a hard flat top on it won't stop it from being a shoe rack.

Something like this should be easy to replicate.

https://www.wayfair.co.uk/furniture/pdp/ebern-designs-kiron-storage-bench-u100121647.html

that is a really cool thing, i like it, might get that!

 

[Deluks]

Why not make the guest bedrooms into a living room and put a sofa bed in there.

 

[Nanako]

Why not make the guest bedrooms into a living room and put a sofa bed in there.

because we already have a livingroom, thats not the point

Going Into A Room is a distinct action, its a commitment to something, if you go into a room to talk, its no longer a casual conversation. Casualness happens where it naturally happens, and it is lost if you try to move it to somewhere else

 

[JohnD]

Make the seat part of the shoe rack.

Quite right.

It is quite usual, in changing rooms, hallways and boot rooms, to have a unit with shelves or pigeonhole for shoes, or sometimes a chest, that you can sit on. Users commonly sit on the bench to tie their laces.