Today we're going to be looking at a farmhouse style alternative for home office or family command center wall organization. Because let's be honest, those box store dry erase boards and wall calendars lack any design style and cost a fortune too.

For these head to your local salvage yard instead to turn vintage sash windows into farmhouse wall organization. Not only will your family command center or home office wall organization be unique and stylish, but it'll be budget-friendly too. So let's get started.

DIY Wall Calendar And Dry Erase Boards With Old Windows

My go-to place for old windows and doors is either our local Habitat reStore or this amazing architectural salvage yard in nearby Edmonton, Alberta. It's the same place I found the 5-panel door we used to make our DIY vintage door headboard.

I was thrilled to stumble upon three vintage sash windows all the same size. One was missing the glass, making it a perfect candidate for turning into a chicken wire note board.

The two with glass will make fantastic dry erase boards, one as a month-at-a-glance wall calendar. In the photo below you'll see I'm using two windows as calendars. I've since removed the calendar from one to use just as a dry erase 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.

Here's How I Did It

How To Turn Old Windows Into Wall Organization

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First, the windows needed a good scrub with vinegar and water and a toothbrush. Once dry, I gave all three windows a whitewash with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color old white.

For a whitewash finish, dip the tips of the paintbrush into water first and then the paint to thin it. Brush with the grain of the wood until just a wash of paint covers the original wood like pictured below. Another alternative is to dilute the paint with water in a container first.

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 call it a day. If you want a like-new patina, give them a scrub with Barkeeper's Friend.

We'll be with the window without the glass by turning it into a chicken wire note board.

Window One - Chicken Wire Note Board

You'll need a roll of chicken wire, some work gloves, and a pneumatic staple gun is helpful too but a manual or electric upholstery stapler works just fine too. I had some leftover chicken wire from the farmhouse cupboard makeover. Because the window will be hanging on the wall, I didn't bother painting the back of the window.

Stretch the chicken wire taut across the back of the window frame. Tack a staple in the center on the back of the window frame on all four sides to hold it in place. Work your way from the center to the corners and cut the excess with wire cutters. It's that simple!

Hang photographs, special greeting cards, design boards, notes, and you name it with mini clothespin hangers.

Window Two - 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 Three - Month-At-A-Glance Wall Calendar

The last window will be turned into a month-at-a-glance dry erase wall calendar. The hardest part of making the calendar is doing the math for the grid.

I wanted a crisp white background for the calendar so colored dry erase markers would be highly visible. To make the calendar use a sheet of white bristol board from the dollar store. Trim it to fit flush with the back of the glass.

Handy Tip

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 it in millimeters we got it right away. I won't bore you with the calculations considering the chances of you finding the same size window is 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 and a fine tip black marker.

Handy TIP

When tracing over 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 (ask 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 vinyl cutting machine, use that instead.

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

The windows are quite heavy so I recommend hanging them with heavy-duty picture hangers.

Picture Hanging TIP

This is the easiest no-fail no-measure picture hanging method for artwork or wall organization with two hooks. I learned this during my career as a home stager and it works every.single.time. No measuring tape is required!

While the repurposed vintage window farmhouse wall organization is great for a home office or family command center, they'd be great in a child's room, craft room, or college dorm room too. Here's a chalkboard command center idea made with repurposed cabinet doors. This one is made for a child's room but can easily be adapted for any room in the house.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by these home office organization ideas with repurposed windows.

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