Before and After: An Old Window Turns Into Something Cute

Old windows are pretty.

So I mentioned yesterday that we had an old window from our basement laundry room. Since old windows are another one of my mini obsessions, I knew I would keep it and turn it into something cute.  

Here are a few pictures of the window before:

The window had a variety of paint on it already: blue, green, and yellow.

The first thing I did was scrape off the putty that was holding the glass in place. I started with an exacto knife, moved onto an old kitchen knife, then moved onto a chisel and hammer. It was almost impossible to get off. It took forever.

Removing the putty.

Once the first pane of glass was removed, I brought it into my local glass shop and had 3 identically sized mirrors cut. Three mirrors only cost $19.95.

Removing the first pane of glass.

Once I had all three panes of glass removed, I filled a few small holes with wood filler.

All three panes of glass removed.

I then gave the whole window a light sanding with fine-grit (150) sandpaper and an electric sander. I made sure to leave some blue/green paint on so that it would show through when I distressed the window later.

Lightly sanded and smooth.

Next I primed the window with Fresh Start Primer from Benjamin Moore.

Primed.

Once the primer dried I painted the whole window with two coats of white paint. I used some leftover Simply White from my last project.

Two coats of white paint.

Once the paint was dry (I used my hairdryer for help) I once again sanded the whole window with an electric sander and 150-grit sandpaper. I took off quite a bit of paint so that I would see some of the window's character: the old paint finish and where the hinges were, etc.

Distressed all pretty-like.

Next, I placed the mirrors face down into the window openings.

Getting ready to place the mirror in.

I got some of these tiny clips while I was at the local glass shop. The lady at the cash gave them to me for free. People at local stores are nice.

Placing 4 clips on each mirror pane.

I (actually Alex did this part) used a block of wood and a hammer to jam the clips into the wood.

Securing the mirror with clips.

Once the mirrors were in I attached two heavy duty picture hangy things in each corner.

Adding hangy thingies.

For the finishing touch, I purchased five oil-rubbed bronze decorative hooks to add to the bottom of the window. I spaced them out first, marked them, and then pre-drilled some holes.

Marking the spots for the hooks.

I screwed in the hooks by hand with a screwdriver.

Finally, we hung it up (securely with some big anchors and screws) by the door in the breakfast room.

Ta-da!

Can you see the blue/green showing through?

Can't wait to hang something up there!

Oh yes. I like it.

My pictures were getting a bit fuzzy by the end since it was getting late in the day when we were finishing up but I was determined to get this project done today. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Alex's help since he took an emergency trip back to the hardware store before they closed at 5:00 since I bought two pewter hooks by accident and needed to exchange them.

And here is the final before and after shot:

I'll be sharing this project at these lovely places:

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming, Week-End Wrap-Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello, Show Off Your Cottage Monday @ The House in the Roses, DIY Project Parade @ The DIY Show-Off, Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle, Making Monday Marvelous @ C.r.a.f.t., Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch, Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm, Tutorials and Tips Tuesday @ Home Stories A to Z, Tutorial Tuesday @ Hope Studios, Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage, Power of Paint Party @ Domestically Speaking, Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage, How-To Tuesday @ The Lettered Cottage, Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors