Repurposed Vintage Window Wall Organization

Today we're going to be looking at an alternative solution for home office wall organization. Not only does it have stylish farmhouse charm but it's a budget-friendly alternative too. Because let's face it, those ugly box store dry erase boards and wall calendars look so utilitarian and lack any personality, plus they cost a small fortune too. Instead, head to your local salvage yard for repurposed vintage window wall organization that'll add that unique touch to any family command center.

Repurposed Vintage Window Wall Organization

My go-to place for architectural salvage here in the Edmonton, Alberta area is Home Reuseables. It's the same place I found the 5-panel door for our DIY Vintage Door Headboard. I was thrilled to stumble upon three vintage sash windows the same size. One was missing the glass, making it perfect for turning into a chicken wire note board.

The two with glass will be turned into dry erase boards, one having a DIY month-at-a-glance calendar behind the glass. In the photo below I have two used as calendars but I've since removed the calendar from one of them to use as a dry erase note board.



These are the vintage 24" x 28" sash windows with original hardware as I found them. I paid $15 per window and $10 for the one missing the glass. Can't beat those prices considering a plain run of the mill plastic dry erase board this size will run you well over $15 at a big box store.

How to turn vintage windows into wall organization

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First, these windows needed a good scrub with vinegar and water and a toothbrush. Once dry, I gave all three windows a whitewash of Old White chalk paint.

All I did to add just a wash of white paint was dip the tips of a round paint brush into water and then the paint to dilute it somewhat. Brushing with the grain of the wood until just a wash of the paint covered the original wood (pictured below).

I liked the aged patina of the window sash hardware so all I did was give them a scrub with warm water to remove the dust and called it a day. If you want a like-new patina, give them a scrub with Barkeeper's Friend.

Window 1 - Chicken Wire Note Board

Now for the fun part, starting with the note board. I had a roll of chicken wire in my stash leftover from the Farmhouse Cupboard makeover. Because the windows would be hanging on the wall, I didn't bother painting the back of the window.

Note, you want to wear works gloves for this project. Using a pneumatic staple gun I stretched the chicken wire across the back of the picture frame, stapled it in place and cut off the excess with wire cutters. It's that simple!

Window 2 - Dry Erase Note Board

Do absolutely nothing but hang the window on the wall and use dry erase markers on the glass. Can't get any easier than that!

Window 3 - Dry Erase DIY Month-At-A-Glance Wall Calendar

Next up, we're going to make a month-at-a-glance calendar to slip behind the vintage window glass to use as a dry erase wall calendar. The hardest part of making the calendar was doing the math for the grid.

I wanted a crisp white background for the calendar so the colored dry erase markers I planned on using would be highly visible. To make the calendar I used one sheet of white bristol board cut to fit flush with the back of the glass.

Tip 1:

It's important you cut the bristol board so it fits flush with the glass rather than the back of the window frame to eliminate annoying shadow lines.

I'm not going to lie, it took a bit to figure out the spacing for the seven-day grid. All that math was making my head hurt so I summoned Mr. Frugalista for help. The bristol board is cut 19 3/4" wide x 23 3/4" long and no matter how hard we tried to get an equal measurement across, we couldn't get it precise.

When we switched to metric, measuring in millimeters we got it right away. I won't bore you with the calculations considering the chances of you finding the same window size may be slim but the boxes for each day are 71.4 mm wide x 3 1/2 inches tall. How's that for mixing things up!

The weekday header is half an inch high leaving lots of room for notes on the top half of the calendar.

If you have a Cricut or Silhouette machine, cut the weekday headings with vinyl or use self-adhesive letters from the dollar store. Unfortunately, I couldn't find self-adhesive letters that fit inside the header space so I used a small stencil that I had on hand.

Once traced with pencil I went over each letter with a black fine tip marker.

Tip for tracing the grid lines

When tracing the penciled grid lines with a black fine tip marker, make sure to wipe the straight edge with a paper towel before drawing the next line or you'll have black ink smudges all over your crisp white calendar (as me how I know).

I did find self-adhesive letters to label the Notes section at the top of the calendar but again, if you have a die-cut machine, match the fonts with vinyl.

Slip the bristol board calendar behind the window pane and used white tape to hold it in place so it's easy to remove as needed.

Pro-tip for hanging the windows

Hang the windows on the wall with these heavy-duty picture hangers.

Use this No-Fail/No Measure Picture Hanging Method for hanging the windows on the wall and get them perfectly aligned and straight without the use of a tape measure. If you've never heard of this no measure tip, be prepared to have your mind blown!

While the repurposed vintage window wall organization is great for a home office, with their lovely farmhouse style, they'd work for a family command center in an entryway or kitchen. They'd also be great in a teenager or college student's room for notes and reminders.

More DIY Wall Organization Ideas

Here are a couple more DIY wall organization ideas that I thought you might like. I made this Chalkboard Command Center with repurposed cabinet doors. Here's a great Upcycled Mail Sorter Command Center for small spaces that cost pennies to make.

If you have any questions about this vintage window repurpose, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top. I love hearing from you!

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