Old Windows Reuse Ideas

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By this time, anyone who has given any thought to it, knows that recycling is a good idea. The world is already full of land fills. I am sure that there are more than any of us wants. Think about it. What will eventually happen to the window sash. The wooden part will rot. The glass will break into shards. The hardware will just take up space. Multiply it times the hundreds of thousands of window sashes that get replaced by more efficient models every year. What a pile of junk that would make!

Idea number one; I am a woodworker by heritage. Most but not all of the older windows were constructed from pine and hand blown glass. Many modern homes are furnished with a coffee table and matching end tables. I can see where a long, narrow window, and two much smaller windows could make the tops of this unique little ensemble! Strip any left over paint off the sash. If you can get the use of a wood lathe, just turn four matching legs, and Voila! The frame could be made from something as simple as 1" x 3" pieces of pine from Home Depot! If you prefer a more rustic look, the Shabby Sheik, do not worry about stripping all of the paint off the sash. Just get what you can off, and later you can make the legs and base of it match. Instead of going with the turned legs, Something like a 4" x 4" cut into leg-lengths would do. The sash itself could even be backed by pine planks if you like! Handsome.

Idea number two; is to refinish the frame, or if you prefer, just sand it down smooth, and paint it. Replace the panes of glass with mirror panes, for a mirror frame to your own personal liking!

Idea number three; ( my own personal specialty ) is to put paintings, that is reverse glass paintings, on the panes of the glass. When they are finished, it looks as though you are looking through a window, into a different place, or even possibly a different time! The painting is applied on to the back side of the glass, so that it can be viewed from the front side. I started doing reverse glass paintings some time ago, and one day while looking at a spare window that had been in the workshop too long, I thought, "hey! A built in frame!", All it needed was a painting.

Since that time, my husband and I have stopped to pick up window sashes at the side of the road when people are remodeling. He runs every day to stay in shape. One morning this last October after his run, I found two window sashes in the carport. I said nothing, as it is no longer uncommon. The next morning, and the following, I found two additional sashes in the carport. Finally, after lunch on the day they stopped coming, my husband said 'I need the truck for a couple of minutes.' My curiosity got the better of me. He finally let on that a neighbor up the road was remodeling, and he was bringing home the old sashes during his run. I told him that the neighbors were probably still looking out the window, saying 'that poor so and so does not even have a car to take them home in!' What a workout, though! It was almost a half mile in this rural area! If you are too bashful to go the side of the road route, window sashes can usually be had from local lumber yards who replace them at little or no cost. Quite the collection has been built up! But, I have also built up quite the collection of paintings! They range in subjects from grizzly bears walking on ice to a series of the events of September 11, 2001. The first difficult part of coarse is making the old sash useable and attractive again, but it is not any thing that can not be done! And it gives suck a different perspective of the painting! I love it!

In closing, I can say that even a useless looking item, such as a window sash can be recycled!