Repurposing old windows

There are lots of old architectural pieces just waiting to be repurposed here in New Orleans. I found these two windows in a friend’s backyard, and I easily made them wall-worthy.  All I had to do was screw in two eyelet screws per each window. I used some picture hanging wire to hang them.

Please make sure you put an anchor in your wall if need be!

The nice thing about the repurposed windows is that they seem to work everywhere! When we moved there was no longer a spot inside for them, but I swapped the picture hanging wire with bailing wire and they became great accents out in the backyard.

Fabric Wall Hanging Project

As a renter, I’m usually disappointed by bland wall color and previous renters’ damage.  Our bathroom in particular was a sad shade of grey/white, so I thought I’d brighten it up.  I went through my hoarder bin and found a large sample of oil cloth I never threw away. Bright and colorful it was perfect for this quick beautification project. This one took no time at all and had a great outcome!

Supplies:

1. A length of pretty fabric or wallpaper (in this case I used oil cloth which hung very nicely)
2. 5/16″ dowel that’s at least 2.5x as long as your fabric is wide.
3. Twine
4. Superglue
5. Saw or loppers
6. Drill with a 5/64 bit

1.Once you’re gathered your supplies, lay your dowel along the top edge of your fabric so you can mark the length you would like to cut it. It should be slightly longer than the top edge, giving yourself enough room for the twine on each side. Use your saw or lopper to cut the dowel.

2. Take your recently cut dowel and use it to measure an equal segment from the remaining length of dowel. Mark the dowel and then cut it so you have two equal lengths of dowel.

3. The dowel that will be on top will need a hole on either side for the twine. Lay the dowel along the top edge of the fabric and mark two dots equidistant from the fabric. Then using your drill, carefully drill a hole through your two marks.

4. Once you’ve made your holes you’re ready to glue. Decide which end is the top of the fabric and then lay the fabric face down with the top towards you. Make a line of glue along the edge of the fabric and put your dowel down making sure it is even with the edge. Once that has dried put another line of glue on the dowel and roll the dowel along the fabric. Hold it in place while the glue dries. Make sure that in the end the two holes you drilled are face up because that is how you will be hanging it.

5. Repeat this on the other end with your other dowel piece.

6. Take your twine and thread it through the holes. Once you’ve decided the appropriate length of twine for your hanging and location cut the twine and knot it below each hole.

Hang and enjoy your new wall hanging!