You recently started to remodel your home. You love the new siding, and your doors give your entire house an eclectic sturdiness. To complete your home’s look, you think you should replace your home’s windows next.

But as you look at your current windows, you wonder if you really need to exchange them. For a moment, you consider repainting the frames to match your home’s exterior. Or perhaps you think about purchasing window treatments, such as shutters or other adornments, to cover up the old frames.

You finally decide that window replacement will improve your home’s aesthetic design better than a minor fix. Yet, you ask yourself if you could somehow preserve the old frames.

Here, we’ll tell you how you can repurpose your old windows once a contractor removes them from your home.

1. Bookcases

When friends and family visit your home, they easily discover your love of literature as they see large towers of books in your living room or on your desk. Rather than leave these masterpieces exposed, use old window frames to give them a home.

You can use any window size to create a bookcase. Simply purchase cuts of wood for a back panel, top, bottom, sides, and shelves. You will also want to buy hinges so that you can use the window front as a door for your bookcase. Use sturdy nails to assemble the case, and add a handle to the front as well.

2. Coat Rack

If you prefer to leave your favorite coats and jackets by your front door instead of inside a closet, then create a hanging coat rack from window frames.

Ask your contractor to remove the glass from the frame. Then, go to your local hardware store to buy wrought iron hooks. Turn the window frame sideways, space four or five hooks evenly apart, and screw them onto the bottom front of the window frame. Once you finish, mount the rack onto the wall near your door.

3. Furniture

Rather than buy a new coffee table or nightstand, use an old window for new home furniture. Take a weekend and shop at a secondhand store for small, cheaper tables. Choose one with a design you like and take it home. Then, try either of these two options:

1. Remove the table’s legs, lightly sand them, and strip them of paint and varnish. Repeat this step with the window frame. Lay your old window on the ground, then use screws to attach the table legs. Turn the table right-side up and place it anywhere in your home.

2. Purchase extra wood from a hardware store, and build a box. Attach your old window on top, and make sure to install hinges and a latch. Then, add the legs to the bottom of the box. You’ll have a new coffee table that can store books, magazines, coasters, etc.

Note that you should leave the glass inside the window frame, as it will act as the top part of your table.

4. Garden Lattices

To add to your backyard’s aesthetic, plant climbing vines and plants. Use tall window frames to construct a lattice or archway, and let the following plants grow on these structures:

1. Clematis

2. Honeysuckle

3. Hydrangeas

4. Ivy

5. Jasmine

6. Morning Glory

7. Trumpet Vines

8. Wisteria

5. Headboards

When you want to redecorate your bedroom, create a unique headboard for your bed. Again, ask your contractor to remove the glass from the frame before you start this project.

Visit a craft store and purchase padded boards that fit inside each window pane. Cover these panels with a fabric of your choice to add color to your room. Install these boards into the window frame, and place the whole contraption on the wall above your bed.

6. Menu Chalkboard

If you like to meal plan each week, then a menu has become your best friend. Take a new approach and create a chalkboard from your old windows. Purchase small chalkboards that fit into each pane and install them into the frame.

You can also purchase small pieces of sheet metal and cover them with chalkboard paint. Hang the menu in your kitchen and write each week’s culinary creations down. At the end of the week, erase the board and add new meal options.

7. Mirrors

Create an optical illusion in your home and use mirrors to expand your space. Call a local glass company and ask them for mirrored glass that fits your window frame. You can use the outside frame alone, or you can add individual mirrors to each pane. Once the glass company secures the glass into the frame, you can hang the mirror anywhere in your home.

Place the mirror near a door or window so that the sunlight can reflect off of the glass. Not only does this method make the room seem larger, but it also brightens the room naturally.

If you want to preserve your old window frames, experiment with some of these tips. You will build fond memories as you do, not to mention improve your home’s interior design and your backyard’s functionality.

But remember, only attempt these projects after a window removal expert detaches your windows from your home and removes glass as necessary.

FAS Windows & Doors is Central Florida’s largest volume window and door dealer, with direct from the factory pricing for replacement and new construction windows and doors. We have showrooms and distribution facilities in the major metro areas of Tampa, FL and Orlando, FL. Call us at 877-289-0825 to see how we can assist you with your windows and door needs today!

Alexandra 10/14/2015