Do you have a room that needs a window, but you don't want to go to the trouble and expense of cutting a hole in your wall? Ron offered this simple, inexpensive solution. What Ron created in his workshop looked just like a window! It made the room feel larger, and it created the illusion of looking outside, but it didn't require any holes in the wall. It was a window frame and window box fitted with a mirror. It was fun to make and even more fun to decorate!
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For a list of what you will need in order to complete
this project.
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1. Cut wood
- Ron chose a standard 1 X 4 piece of pine for this project, which he picked up at his local home center.
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- Ron's first step was to cut the sides for his frame. To make sure the sides were exactly the same length, he taped the two boards together.
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- With both pieces secured together, Ron was able to cut both pieces of wood at the same time with a handsaw. Ron tried to use hand tools as much as possible while working on this project to keep it simple.
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2. Frame assembly
- Ron used wood glue applied with a small brush to assemble the frame.
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- Ron attached the frame together with a simple butt joint. This means the end of one piece was attached to the side of the adjacent piece.
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- After the frame was glued together, Ron fit a band clamp around the frame. A band clamp, which is a nylon strap with four plastic corners on it, can be purchased at the hardware store or home center for $12 - $15.
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- One of the four corners of the clamp was equipped with a tightening mechanism. Ron first pulled the slack out by hand and then tightened the ear. He used the screw to tighten the clamp firmly in place. He let it sit until the glue was dry.
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3. Lattice strips
- Ron attached lattice strips to the back of the frame, which served two purposes. First, they helped reinforce the joints that were glued together, and secondly they provided a way to keep the mirror in place, which Ron would install later.
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- Ron used very tiny nails to attach the lattice pieces to the back of the frame. Since the nails were difficult for Ron to hold in his fingers, he placed each one between the teeth of an ordinary comb. Ron then held the comb in position while he gave the nail a tap with his hammer. After the first tap, he pulled the comb away and finished hammering in the nail.
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- The strips that Ron had attached to the back formed a recess for the mirror. Ron did not put the mirror in yet, but instead temporarily tacked on the 1/4" plywood backing. Ron attached the back with just a few small nails.
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4. Planter box
- When Ron flipped the frame over to the front side, you could see that the back he had just put on extended below the front of the frame. The bottom section is where he would attach the planter box.
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- The planter box was also made of pine. Ron cut out the ends of the box first, from a piece of 1 X 6.
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- Ron placed the two ends bottom side up…
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- …and began by nailing and gluing the bottom of the flower box onto the ends.
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- Ron rotated the box 90-degrees…
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