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A Room With A Barnyard View

by on Nov 16, 2006

Actually, the view from this window-turned-mirror is not limited to livestock. But creating it does require you to take a walk on the rural side. Less the manure.

Cold Hard Sash

First, you’ll need to find yourself a wooden barn sash window. The only place that I know of that sells these things locally, is Menards. They offer a variety of sizes including 4 and 6 paned sashes for 28 to 40 bucks. For this project I opt for a 6’er.

Next, ease the staples out the moldings from the back of each pane. I used a combination of tools for this step, including but not limited to a small, metal putty knife to pry the molding a bit and then a needle-nose pliers to pull the staples free. Use whatever tools work for you, but remember to keep the moldings in tack as we will be reusing them!

A Pane in the GlassA door has a wooden edge on the window.

You may want to don a pair of gloves for this as the glass must go. After you ease the panes out of the window, take one of them to your local hardware store. Home improvement centers do not, typically, cut glass or mirror, so a trip to Ace or Hank’s is necessary. The person at the hardware store can either measure the pane or, better yet, use it as a template to cut the new mirrors.

Finish First

It’s much more efficient to finish the window before you install the mirrors. I used a fruitwood stain with three coats of clear, satin polyurethane. When your finish is dry, set the mirrors in the individual openings. Using a staple gun, re-install the moldings, stapling them in place.

Note: Wooden barn sash windows are made of pine or a soft wood equivalent. Staples will easily go through the moldings. I recommend a forward action stapler such as one of Craftsman’s “Easyfire” guns.

Double Your Pleasure

The great thing about this project is you can “double” the exposure in any room by positioning your faux window opposite a real window. It’s faux-tastic!