Saturday, May 8, 2010

Vintage Window Makeover from Guest Blogger, My Cottage Charm

First let me say I am very honored that Robyn asked me to be a guest blogger for her while she's re-cooping from her surgery, can't wait to dig right in and get started and I'm so glad to hear she's doing ok!

I'm Melissa from My Cottage Charm and I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 25 wonderful years.  We have three beautiful boys that bring us joy everyday and make our lives VERY interesting, to say the least. :) I love to blog and have made so many amazing friends in such a short period of time. (and Robyn is at the top of the list!)  My blog is all about bringing the passion for decorating into reality by using inexpensive ideas and LOTS of paint to achieve the look and feel you LOVE.  (occasionally I do gush about my children and hubs, or give you a new recipe, I'm just like that!)  :-)  Here are a few things you can find on my blog:

      Cozy Cottage Kitchen    
 




You're more than welcome to come visit me anytime!
Now lets get to the makeover! 
My mom was going to throw away this old vintage window and asked me if I had any use for it.....



As you can see, it was in REALLY poor condition, but I decided to take on the job and make something great out of it!  It had quite a bit of rotted wood and issues around the panes of glass, even some missing panes.  First I cleaned out all the rotted wood areas and filled it with wood putty.  I let it dry and sanded it down smooth.   I removed the broken panes of glass and had some new panes cut.  I cleaned out all the old putty and put in the new pieces of glass with glazing points.  (those are little pointy pieces of metal that hold the new glass in place...easily picked up at Lowes or any hardware store)  I used some window putty to hold the new panes in place.  You just roll out a piece like a snake and put it around the panes of glass and use a putty knife, at an angle, to remove the rest.  (maybe you'll be blessed to find an old window with all the glass and you can skip all those steps!)

I decided I wanted to be able to hang coats along the top edge, so I purchased some glass door knobs.  I actually found these at Walmart....they were supposed to be used to change out existing door knobs, but I had other ideas for them! (you could use vintage ones if you have them) To attach them to the window, I used wood dowels the same size as the holes in the back, and then drilled that same size hole in the window and then glued the dowels in.......like this.....


After I got it all cleaned up etc, I gave it a good coat of crisp white paint! AND THEN...this is what I used it for!

I printed out my pictures in black and white and backed them with some black art paper, just so you don't see the wall color behind it.  You could have your pictures printed to the exact size of the panes, but my panes were bigger than what my printer would print out, so I just  backed them with the paper to make it easier. I just love how it turned out!  I have it hanging in my foyer and have a shelf underneath it with hooks.  I decided to use those hooks for coats and use the glass door knobs for something pretty.  I chose pretty over practicality.....surprise, surprise! :)  I still have one pane of glass to fill with a picture....I just can't seem to figure out which one I want, but it'll get there eventually!


I hope you've enjoyed looking over my window makeover, I know I've enjoyed putting this post together for you.  Again, I would like to thank Robyn for letting me visit with all you guys today and I hope she's recovering nicely and resting at home!
Love ya Robyn!

Blessings
MELISSA

6 comments:

Lemon Lane Studio said...

I hope Robyn is feeling better and that her recovery will be short and as easy as possible. Melissa's post is wonderful and inspirational as always. (Didn't know if I was writing to Robyn or Melissa,lol)

Holly Lefevre said...

That is just fantastic. My friend has something similar in her house and I always eye it.

Unknown said...

so sweet of you to take care of today's post!! I'm glad to hear Robyn is doing well.......I'm gonna hop over to your blog!!

Greetings
Lynda

Vintage Remixed said...

Love the window. What a great idea.

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

What a unique project Melissa! It turned out great! Hope Robyn is on the mend and doing well!~Patti

Legacy of Love said...

nice job! Looks great