The View Through a Vintage Window

In the 1990's, my husband and I rented and later bought my grandmother's little old farmhouse. It was the house my dad grew up in. It was the house me and my little family spent 13 years in.

We had the same neighbors that my dad grew up with. The same neighbors I knew as a child. The same neighbors that were on my grandma’s party line.

Our little farmhouse when my grandmother lived in it.

It started as a chicken coop in the 1930s or 1940s. By the time my grandmother bought it, it had become a house. According to family lore, the original farmhouse on the property burned down, and the owners moved into the chicken coop. They gradually added to it, transforming it into a livable home.

The little shed and chicken coop when we lived in the farmhouse

Years after we had moved into the house, we decided to remodel. It started with replacing a window. As we peeled back the many layers of wallpaper around the window, it suddenly began to move. To our surprise, we discovered that the window had never been properly framed in; it was basically sitting in a hole cut into the side of the house, held in place by the wallpaper.

The beginning of our “remodel”.

That marked the beginning of the enormous task of reconstructing a house within a house, a massive project that took many months to complete.

During the process, I collected old windows and unearthed artifacts. Some I kept, including one window that became my sprinkle cupboard, which I've posted about on Instagram many times.

Another window became part of my home décor, finding its place in various spots over the years.

There's something captivating about vintage windows. I often find myself imagining the views they once framed and the scenes others saw through them

When I had the opportunity to host my niece's bridal shower, I brought it out again. I stapled some string to the back, draped it in the front, and used clothespins to hang photos of the bride and groom.

It was a simple decoration, but one of my favorites from the shower. And everyone loved seeing pictures of the bride and groom throughout their lives. I imagine I’ll be using this window more often to decorate with now!