Recently Young House Love, one of my favorite blogs, started partnering with a few other lucky blogs to do an unofficial Pinterest Challenge. This is intended to encourage others to implement the wonderful ideas that they ‘pin’ on Pinterest.
I love this challenge because I have so many inspirations {pins} on my “to-do” list and this motivates me to make it happen. For the winter edition challenge, I updated my kitchen window using this Pinterest inspiration!
Inspiration Photo from BHG
This was one of my first {and favorite} pins when I first discovered Pinterest. I even included it in the “I’m having withdrawals” blog post. Not only do I love this window but I really loved everything about this kitchen. After doing a little research I realized the shelf would be a piece of cake but I’ve spent months looking for an affordable and appropriate vintage/antique window. I finally bought a scroll gate from Kirkland’s (on sale) as an interim solution.
My preference is to have a stain glass or panel window to diffuse light and give us a little more privacy. I can’t wait to check out the antique show next month to see what they have but this will do in the meantime.
The materials for this project were two brackets (I used these from Lowe’s), a piece of 1×6 wood and an old window (preferably). After searching my computer endlessly, I’m bummed to report I don’t think the in progress sanding and painting pictures made the migration to our new hard drive. 
I primed and painted two brackets I purchased from Lowe’s but you can purchase something similar from Ikea that is ready to assemble. It just happens that Lowe’s is within walking distance and it was a little cheaper to DIY the shelf since I had the paint on hand.
Possible Ikea Option
Simultaneously, I sanded, primed and painted a 1 x 6 piece of lumber to be the shelf. I had Lowe’s cut the shelf to 31 inches at the time of purchase but I think I may have measured my window incorrectly. Looking back I would have liked the shelf to be 1-2 inches longer.
To prep the window, I removed the shade and filled the holes with wood filler.
Once it was dry, I sanded the surface (where I applied the wood filler). The next step would be to apply touch up paint but I knew the new scroll was going to cover the area so I skipped that step. :S
I had to adjust the hooks on the frame because it was intended to hang portrait style and I wanted it to hang landscape to allow room for the shelf.
Next, I measured and drilled all the holes to hang the brackets and the window/scroll. The brackets simply hook onto the screw and sit flush against the wall (or in this case window frame).
You can nail, glue (using wood glue), or use 3m strips to adhere the shelf onto the brackets.
The spice jars are from Anthropologie, the plant and pot are from Ikea and the the bowl is from Target.
Ta-da! Project complete!
The hardest part of this may have been picking which project to complete so I went ahead and bought the supplies for several projects to keep up the momentum!! I’m so excited about all the projects to come!! If you want a sneak peak of what I’m considering follow me on Pinterest. It’s usually a dead giveaway of what I’m planning. Like right now, I’m pinning a lot of boy’s bedroom and nursery ideas for Jacob and baby #3, closet designs for everyone, spring and Easter décor {that I plan to complete of the next two weeks}, and entry ways {for a possible makeover}.
Have any questions, feedback, or just want to let me know you were here, leave a comment! Thanks for visiting!! I hope to see you back!
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