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Window Boxes in our 2nd Story Porch

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

The first time I looked at our 100 year old house when it was for sale, (it’s a big ole rambling house) and I was totally, and I might add, very sweetly surprised when at the end of the 2nd floor hallway… or so I thought it was the end, not only did I find the back kitchen stairway that had been closed up from the kitchen end, as well as an attic stairway, but still there was another door! As I tugged it open I was greeted with this room… a wonderful 2nd story porch on the south end of the house!!

This hidden 2nd story porch gets wonderful light with huge expansive windows on all 3 sides of it. I’m sure originally it was a sleeping porch with just screens at the window openings, but at some point a previous owner put in these windows, and I’m so glad. It makes it so much more usable for Wisconsin.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

So this year I wanted to try a go at raising some herbs and lettuce…

When I found these 6 handmade window boxes that a gal in Minneapolis was selling I was thrilled. They fit comfortably end to end on the 2 South facing windows. She was a very interesting lady… had started her own business making casegoods for a major retailer. She designed these and had her carpenter make them for herself, but when she moved, they didn’t fit in her next porch.

They fit mine! Aren’t they so cute?

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

I was thrilled with the vintage green color and fun contemporary yet classic style.

If you don’t happen to find some on the 2nd hand market like I did, have no fear… HERE are some really cute wood window box choices!

When it came time to mount them, since these windows didn’t have much of a window sill, I was left with a couple of options. I could invest a lot of time and effort and money and make deeper window sills, or same story to make shelves at the sill height to set them on, which would be nice…

But I opted for a much more economical and easier route…

The key was to find the right hardware to do the work.

I’d mount them just below the actual sill with a simple bracket.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

Here is a link for these simple and VERY economically priced brackets!

The bracket needs a block about 1″ deep behind it to hold it firmly in place.

I found a strip of MDF leftover from when the carpenter was making trim for the kitchen that was the perfect thickness.

All I needed to do was cut 18 blocks from the leftover board.

Now let me just pause a moment here and say, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a carpenter, nor do I really like using power tools all that much. However, I do love the chop saw we have and the ability it gives me to make a quick cut.

Here is a link for a best selling chopsaw at HomeDepot. Ours has saved me lots of time trying to handsaw a board… to make these 16 cuts with a handsaw would have taken me most of the day, and I’d of been exhausted after!

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

I don’t know much in the way of tricks & tips for using power saws… except keep your fingers out of the way.

OK, so actually, here is a tip, besides the obvious fingers thing:

I had to make 18 cuts all at the same 3″ width…

So instead of measuring each one out, I did like what I have on my sewing machine…

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

I marked with a pencil right on the flat surface of the saw bed where to place the end of the board for the next cut, (if you look carefully, you can just barely see the pencil line a couple inches to the right of the red cutting area)

That actually saved a ton of measuring time.

So with the blocks of wood, simple white hardware brackets and a drill with some proper length screws, (longer for the wall and shorter for the bottom of the window boxes) I drilled then screwed each window box up….

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

The brackets hold the window boxes firmly in place.

Now I have herbs and lettuces getting plenty of sunlight and hopefully growing healthy.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com Window Boxes inside a 2nd story porch

Uh-oh!

Once the window boxes were done…

I realized that when we moved into the house, we were so busy renovating the rest of the house, we had just left this 2nd story porch exactly how it was, only added a bunch of furniture from our last sunroom into here…

These cute window boxes make me realize how awful the floor looks…

Ugh, and that dark brown ceiling… wouldn’t it look so fresh and light if it were porch ceiling blue?

OK, I’ve got a little more work to do before I show you the rest of this room… But I already have the paintbrush in my hand, so hold tight, I’ll be right back.

**UPDATE** Here is the sunporch AFTER I did a totally refreshing facelift re-do!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and now Instagram!  I appreciate you reading along.

Here are more of my carpentry tips and tutorials:

Blue-and-White-Backsplash-Tile
Cabinet-Door-Gallery
how to install a floating shelf
install door knocker in a hollow steel door
Wallpaper Mural
Repurposing-Vintage-Screen-Door
transform-hall-closet-into-library
Creating a Built-In Faux Fireplace
wall mounted potrack
antique inspiried kitchen island
shutters do's and don'ts
DIY Faux Exposed Brick Chimney
DIY Frosted Glass  Privacy Window
DIY Cedar Closet Lining
How to Change a Door Lock
tips to refresh basement steps
Old Time Carpenter Taught me this Trick
Wallies
How to Make a Chandelier Longer
DIY Wide Plank Laminate Flooring
How to add a fireplace to any room
Composite Decking
Tips on Creating a Kitchen Island Feature
Changing Popcorn Ceiling to Knockdown
Closet-Transformation
how to mount a shelf when there's no stud
Easiest DIY Beadboard ever
Nautical Cottage Bathroom
DIY wall mounted potrack
How to install a farmhouse sink

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and Instagram! I appreciate you reading along.

This post can be found at Between Naps on the Porch, French Country Cottage

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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I’m Liz, the author, and I’m so glad you’re here!

My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!
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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I'm Liz, the author, and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!


Disclosure Policy: According to FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that some of the content of this blog may be a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

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Sharing is great! Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz and YouTube the more the merrier! I appreciate you stopping by. But please remember that all photos, images, text and content are owned by SimpleDecoratingTips.com. So anything you share, please be sure it always links back to my original post it came from. Please do not remove watermarks, crop or edit anything without written permission from me first.

Disclosure Policy: According to the FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials and shopping links. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

Disclosure Policy According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. My truthful opinion will be what I state, no matter if I'm getting paid or not. Accuracy and truth are the priority for me on this blog's information, no matter if it's about a product or anything else. Not every product or service or store etc. may be mentioned in each and every post as an affiliate. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post.

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