Window & Desk Oh My

I've been doing a few inexpensive home projects lately. As I've mentioned before we only have 715 square feet in our apartment so there is a limit to the number of home projects I can do. Somehow I still manage to keep changing it to make it closer to what I want.

A few weeks ago I was driving home from church and spotted 5 old windows laying by a pile of junk. I was so excited! Of course I snagged all five and shared four of them with some friends. This is the one I kept.

 I sanded and painted the front and sides. Then I cut white paper to fit in the back and taped my pictures centered on the paper. This is easier, cheaper and faster than matting. And nobody can tell. I love it!

 This is what it looked like before. It is beautiful wood and very well built. The house it was in front of is from the 1920s and I imagine it is about that old.

 Here's the back. I didn't do anything to it.

Old windows are one of my favorite decor items because you can personalize it in so many ways. I like more clean, modern lines but whatever your decor style you can make it work for you. Check out this shabby chic window or this awesome collection or this awesome use for a wedding. Seriously, you could use them for anything.

My second project was this library desk. It belonged to my husband's grandpa He said it was an antique. It had definitely been well loved.

For my hubby's birthday our son and I sanded it and stained it. It took 4 layers of stain to get it to where I loved it. And I really do love it now. The circle near the front of the top is where Jason set a very hot pan during college. I can imagine he was busy studying and didn't want to bother with a bowl. It is actually quite pretty now and I don't mind the burn mark.

 I used antique walnut stain and polyurethane in one from Home Depot.