Old Wooden Window turned Towel Rack

Old wooden, paint cracked windows are popular these days.  I picked up two of them from a thrift/antique type store in North Carolina several months ago.  I have been peculating on an idea to create a purposeful decor piece out of one window.  I've had a few ideas on what to use them for but creating a towel rack for our master bathroom stuck in my mind.  Our bathroom had no towel racks at all and has a boring builder grade feel.

I spent extra timing searching for a window with the glass intact

Aged window lock and perfectly imperfect cracked paint

I picked up some supplies including a basic towel rack,  two stainless steel pipe clamps and a french cleat.  I ended up going back to the store and getting a 30in rod because that fit the length of the window better.

I pre-drilled holes through the clamps so I could easily screw them into the exact locations I wanted on the window frame.  I'm not exactly sure which drill bit works best for getting through metal but definitely use a scrap piece of wood underneath.

After wiping down the window, adding a couple mason jars to the metal camps, securing the towel rod and the french cleat, this is what I had.  For me the devil is in the details and visibly seeing the french cleat annoyed me.  Back to the store to find a backing option.

I picked up 1 yard of neutral chevron material.  Believe it or not, but I used a stapler to attach the material to the back frame of the window.  The old wood was soft enough for the staples to penetrate.  In the future, it will be easy to remove the staples and change out the material background.

The material backing did the trick!  The french cleat is hidden perfectly.  I added a small preserved boxwood wreath which I love and I am really happy with how this project turned out.  The window adds a lot of interest to an otherwise dull bathroom as well as much needed towel rack space.

Happy DIY'ing!

Dining Room Updates

I was not completely hibernating over the winter.  I made a few decor updates to my dining room.  To be honest, I don't use my dining room all that often.  Maybe I should host more dinner parties.  However, you do see the dining room as soon as you enter my home so that area needs to be in decent shape to make a good impression.

One day I realized that I have a lot of dark wood on wood colors in my dining room. There is nothing wrong with my dining room set and I did not want to paint the pretty wood.

Old blah dining room

Additionaly, living in a subdivison means you can clearly see the other houses next door.

I love my neighbors and all but a little privacy would be nice

I came up with a game plan to lighten up the room and create a cozy feel.  I decided to soften up the hard lines of the windows with curtains and shade the view of the neighboring house with curtain sheers.  Curtain sheers are my go to plan for covering a not-so-pretty view from the side windows.  I have successfully implemented the curtain sheer plan in the guest room as well.  I added stretchy white chair covers to lighten the all wood furniture.  The chair covers came from here.  Added a couple of fun squirrel pillows from target and voila!  A big area rug might be nice too however, that is a big investment.

Before

After

Squirrel pillow

News Flash!  Curtains + Sheer + Rods = $$$!  To cut down on costs, I purchased only three fancy curtains (instead of six) and had my wonderful grandmother cut/sew them in half {Thanks G!}.  Additionally, instead of purchasing a pricey bay window double rod, I bought a single rod and used bungee cords to hang the curtain sheers. Works great and was a fraction of the price!

Bungee cords to the rescue!

That's all for today. Stay tuned for another post soon!

Take Care!

Spring has sprung!

I am finally coming out of hibernation!  We have had a tough, cold winter that has kept me inside and suppressed my creativity.  The weather is finally starting to shift into spring and I can tolerate working in the garage - although, I should clean the garage out at some point.

Anyway, this past weekend I finished two small projects.  I have a few pairs of old wooden shutters lying around in the garage.  For months I've had an idea in my head to use the shutter as a mail organizer/command center sort of thing.

Old wooden shutter from a Habitat Restore for $5

I used left over Chateau Grey chalk paint, which is a muted green/grey color.  After a small amount of distressing, I added a coat of clear soft wax.

I added a few hooks to hang extra keys and used wooden mini chalk board clothes pin labels.  This organizer is a great way to keep cards, bills and coupons off the counter.  I did a quick search on etsy for a shutter mail organizer and they sell for $30 and up.  I spent $5 for the pair of shutters, which means I still have one side left. I used left over paint and wax. I purchased the silver hooks for ~$1.70 at the hardware store.  I hung the organizer with Command removable picture hanging strips so I could remove the shutter without damaging the cabinet.

Finished shutter mail organizer

In addition to the shutter project, I updated my small wall gallery with nautical themed canvas.  I am sort of obsessed with nautical themed everything right now... anchors, rope, blue/white strips, etc. 

I used mod podge to adhere the images to blank canvases. Then added a black paint border with a sponge.  I've done this before and it is a fun, easy project.

For those keeping score, I made the currency collage a few years ago as a way to display all the currency I've collected while traveling.  I also created the subway art image used in the top right display which includes all of the places my husband and I have traveled together.

That's all for now!  I hope spring is here to stay.