The Painted Willows: DIY Window Frame Coat Rack Tutorial and Cost Breakdown

I don't know about you but I love old windows! If we didn't live in earthquake country I would probably have them all over my house! I do have one securely placed window in our entryway and I thought I would share with you how I transformed it into a beautiful yet functional piece in our home.

I found the window frame on Craigslist, I actually bought three identical frames for $30. I originally pictured hanging all three of them vertically above my couch. But with two young and very rambunctious kiddos pretty much constantly jumping around on the couch, the nervous mama in me couldn't do it. So I have two in storage for future projects :). I loved the color of the window frame and I didn't have to do much to it as far as painting goes. I did repaint a couple of spots on it just to touch it up a bit.

It still looks rough and organic, just the way I like it! I added hooks since I knew I would be hanging it in our entryway and I wanted a place where we could hang jackets and purses, and a place for visitors to do the same. I bought the hooks at our local hardware store. Hooks are not cheap! I bought some that were about $4 a piece (so $20 for 5) here are some similar ones I found on Amazon. They were easy to install, I just screwed in the far ones and the middle one and then measured the distance for the two in between.

As I mentioned before we do live in earthquake country so I did secure it to the wall using anchors like these. I used two anchors for the top two corners and then I used Command Picture Hanging Strips found here all along the bottom to secure snugly against the wall. I love Command Strips and I use them all the time! I hate putting holes in my walls, it feels like such a commitment, but with these you can hang something for awhile and then change it up without having to spackle and repaint all the time.

My favorite part of this little DIY project is our family picture behind the frame. While the frame is beautiful on its own I loved the idea of putting our picture behind it. I actually got the picture printed at Staples using their Engineering Print and it only cost me $4! Amazing for such a large print! It was really easy to do. I just went in to the copy section at Staples, gave them a zip drive with the picture on it, told them how big I wanted the print and it was ready in 30 minutes! The paper the print is on is flimsy so I did buy foam board and attached the picture to that using adhesive spray to give it a bit more stability. I then attached the foam board to the wall behind the frame using those handy command strips again. I have heard that the Engineering Prints do fade over time but I haven't noticed any fading thus far.

I love that this is the first thing people see when they enter my home! It was fun and pretty inexpensive to make. Here's the cost breakdown:

Old Window Frame (Craigslist)-$10

Coat Hooks (Orchard Supply)-$20

Wall Anchors-$1

Command Strips-$5

Engineering Print-$4

Foam Board-$3

_______________________________

Total $ 43

I had to share one more pic! I just added drawer liners to my grey dresser from this post. I just love how a small detail like this can add so much to a piece!