How to Repurpose Old Windows as Wall Decor

My favorite DIY projects fall into two categories: inexpensive and makes a big statement. Who doesn’t love these type of projects?! Well, here’s a good one for you: Repurposing old windows to use as wall decor. It’s simple. It’s inexpensive. It makes a big statement in your home. Here’s how to do it in a few easy steps.

Step 1: Buy or find old windows. Good places to look for these are Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. You can get them for $5-10, even the larger ones! I used four of them for my project. Two I received from relatives and two I purchased from Facebook Marketplace for $5 each.

Step 2: Paint the windows with Rust-Oleum Ultra Matte Interior Chalked Paint. Before painting them, I cleaned them off with soap and water, letting them dry before applying paint. I chose to paint them using a chalk paint that could be easily distressed. Also, I preferred a matte finish since I wanted them to keep their old, used look.

Step 3: If you run into issues with old paint or stains bleeding through, apply a primer such as Zinsser BIN Advanced Synthetic Shellac Primer. Then re-apply the chalk paint over the top of the primer.

Step 4: Use 220 grit sand paper to distress the windows. Focus your distressing on the edges and corners to give them a naturally distressed look. Vary the amount of distressing across the windows.

Step 5: Use a tack cloth to remove all dust from the windows. I also washed the glass on the windows.

Step 6: Make paper templates to help you decide on the window layout on your wall. Since these windows are so large and we were going to screw them directly into the studs, I wanted to make sure that I knew the exact layout of them before we started putting them on the wall. I measured the size of each window and then cut paper from a large roll to match each size.

Step 7: Hang the windows on the wall. Since these windows can get pretty heavy, we chose to screw the windows directly into studs using deck screws. First find the studs in the wall using a stud finder.

Use a level to make sure that your windows are level.

You can paint over the heads of the deck screws when you are done so that they are not noticeable.

Now you will have a beautiful wall of windows!

If you give this a try, I would love to see your wall of windows! Share it with me on Instagram or Facebook.

If you are looking for other DIY wall decor ideas, check out this rustic farmhouse-style coat rack tutorial or this tutorial on how to install removable wallpaper. Happy DIY-ing!

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