Momentum of Joy

I don’t do exercise. I do projects. Although both require significant energy, I have found that my long-term results are significantly better with design. As I access my creative side, my stress dissipates and excitement takes its place. I feel reinvigorated when I can put together a unique or fun new addition that brighten up someone’s living space.

I enjoy finding items that appear to be awkward combinations and pairing them in interesting ways. My other goal is to create a high-end product via the use of low-end inputs. I firmly believe that you do not have to spend endless amounts of money to achieve beauty in your home or office. With that said, if you do happen to have endless amounts of money, please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience. I would love to work with you and have specific helpful suggestions regarding where you can put those unused funds (make the check to “Jo Price”).

For the rest of us currently stuck in reality, there are countless ways to put together eye-catching design pieces at very reasonable prices. One item I frequently incorporate into rooms is one or more old windows. Most vintage and antique dealers have these, but there is no need to buy the most expensive window you can find. I look for windows that have interesting glass panes with minimal breakage and low levels of wood rot on the frames. If it’s truly an old window, it’s tough to avoid the wood rot, and you get better deals if you are willing to buy and clean these up a bit.

You will have to wipe off any dust, mold and general funk. As many of the old windows have lead paint, gloves and masks are a must. I sometimes redo the paint and frame, but I actually love to see the old rusty hardware and previous paint colors showing through. However even if the paint doesn’t need to be redone, I still take steps to reinforce the frame.

You should be able to find metal corner braces at most hardware stores.

I typically reinforce the windows by using a screw driver to attach metal corner braces. Be careful when you do this as you don’t want to split the wood nor do you want to break the glass. As corner braces aren’t my favorite design accent, I either cover them with a few strokes of chalk paint, or I hide them altogether.

My primary window accent is typically a shelf bracket. Yes – shelf bracket. You screw them down into the window versus up into a shelf.

Attaching an intricate bracket to the corner(s) of an old beat-up window creates a surprising look of elegance while further reinforcing the stability of the window frame. I don’t mind a few cracks here and there as I feel like those give the windows more personality, but large brackets can sometimes be used to hide some defects or breaks in the panes.

If you want to attach further hardware to hang your window, be sure that the wood is strong enough to bear the weight. I spent more time than I care to admit attaching elaborate hardware to the large window pictured in this post. Ultimately, I decided that I prefered the way it looked when it was leaning against the wall. It was an annoying realization, but the end result was worth all the trouble regardless.

My style of decorating may be very different from yours, but it wouldn’t be any fun if we all danced to the same beat anyway. The point is to take a little time every now and then to make your space beautiful. We feel better on the inside when we surround ourselves on the outside with pieces that strike us as beautiful. They warm our living spaces, speak to our inner style, and give us a sense of pride. This has nothing to do with how much you spend. It’s truly about creating ways to transform simplicity to sophistication and mundane to magnificent.

Best of luck to you!  Jo Price

Originally posted on anotherjoproject.com.  🙂