Tuesday, September 4, 2012

My Favorite Project Ever . . . Kitchen Window Shelves

This might seriously be my favorite project of all time, although the bedroom fireplace and barn door rank right up there, these simple kitchen window shelves were so easy to install and are so cute I think they win!
Our windows had a very natural spot to pop a shelf up, and we have a pane detail at the top of our windows which made a very obvious break! But with the shelves being the same color as the trim you could pop them up anywhere and they just blend in! 
 Like I said it was a really easy project, just two pieces of wood 1/2" thick, 8 small L brackets and some paint in your trim color!
  1. First we had to find wood the same depth as our windows (4 1/2" deep) Home Depot had it in stock.
  2. Lee cut it to length. 
  3. I painted it our trim color, Martha Stewart's Heavy Cream. 
  4. We attached two small L brackets to each side (also found at Home Depot for $1.09 for 4. 
  5. Lee screwed them to the inside of the windowsills. 
 For the cafe curtains we used the same tension rod as last time and hung them just in front of the L brackets to hide them a little bit!
 Thanks to your prompting I decided to add a little touch of color to kitchen windows and picked this fabric up from Jo Ann's. It's a Waverly Fabric and it's called Robin's Egg. It has a great linen texture to it, and I love the blue, cream and tiny red stripe.
I think that all accent colors should be repeated at least twice so I chose a little red pot to repeat the red element, I'm seriously in LOVE with that little red pot!
I plan on adding another plant or maybe a cute tea cup. But for now I love it just the way it is, just adding the two shelves made a big difference in the sink corner . . . somehow it feels cozier! We both love it!
Total Cost: Kitchen Window Shelves
Wood: $9.42
L Brackets:  $2.18
Trim Paint: Free (we already had it)
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$ 11.60

Total Cost Cafe Curtains:
Umbra Tension Rods: $20 each
Umbra Curtain Clips: $7.99 each (2 packs)
Waverly Fabric: $17.99 a yard (1 1/2 yards needed)
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$ 70.00
This cost will totally change depending on What fabric you use!
I Hope you'll consider trying out these little shelves, the we're definitely Beginner on the DIY scale! Less then an hour of actual work and they made a HUGE difference!

29 comments:

  1. I love how those shelves turned out! They look so cute - and I love the little bit of added storage in that area!

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  2. I just love the enhancement to the windows. I wish I had a window like that near my sink, it would probably make doing the dishes more enjoyable!

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  3. Love this idea! It would make an awesome spot for an herb "garden".

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  4. Very cute idea and how sweet are those little clip rings?

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  5. super cute idea and I adore that fabric!!!

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  6. Very cute....warms up the area.... love the fabric =)

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  7. This has got to be one of the cutest ideas ever. Love the pop of red too.

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  8. It really does add personality to that corner. Nicely done.

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  9. Love the fabric, matches almost all fo the colours in my house; MUST seek it out even though I don't have a project for it...yet.

    I was going to suggest a dab of the trim paint on the screws to conceal their existence a bit more, but then got hung up on the look of them sticking out ever so slightly. Ask if Lee would consider replacing with pan head screws, the flat backs to the heads allow them to sit flush with the brackets. I think you can even get ones already in white.

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  10. I love the idea of those little shelves! The cafe curtains are adorable too (as is the little red pot)!

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  11. This is fantastic! They look so cute! :) It does seem like a pretty easy project, but with a big impact.

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  12. Love... Hey in curious. I by no means have a green thumb but I really want to put some potted plants around the house. Do u have suggestions? Maybe done that are safe for dogs and kids? And don't require a lot if work :)

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    Replies
    1. Here's a post we did over a year ago, on easy, and safe houseplants!!!
      I hope you find it helpful!!!

      http://www.maillardvillemanor.com/2011/02/houseplant-chic.html

      Lots of Love
      Ashli

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  13. What a great idea! Love the new curtains too. I am hoping to add some to our kitchen windows soon. I could use some color!!

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  14. What a darling detail and I agree the pops of color make your kitchen shine. Love the red touch in the pot. Great project:)

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  15. You and Lee always get it right, Ashli! The shelves look great and just love the curtains!

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  16. one word: LOVE!!!!

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  17. Ashley, how cute is this! I think that this would work perfectly in our kitchen too. What a fab idea!

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  18. That all looks great...love the red pot and the new striped fabric. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia

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  19. My mother had them in the kitchen, dining room and front porch. Dozens of them up and down the windows but my father made them out of glass.
    Your shelves look lovely.

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  20. Adorable! I'm so going to do this in my bathroom! Thnx.

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  21. Oh my gosh!!! I am SO going to do this! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the idea! You and Lee are brilliant! :)

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  22. So cute and I love the fabric!!!!

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  23. Great project for your kitchen window Ashli! I love the little red pot too, and I like it sitting there by itself :-) The cafe curtains are the cake's icing!!
    Victoria

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  24. One day I totally need to do this. We only have one massive window, but it would be great to get some plants up off the sill and on a shelf. Love how your's fit right in the window and look built in. Got the cafe curtains up, just need to finish them with a topper like this.

    B

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  25. These shelves and the curtains are so cute! I wonder if I could make the shelves strong enough to support my cat. That could be the perfect solution to stopping strangers from looking straight into our living room, while letting Saphira keep with her peeping tom (or peeping queen, since she's a girl) ways. She is fairly small and light (not that she seems it when she decides to use your chest as a launching pad) so it could work!

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  26. So cute! Did you have to sew the fabric to make the curtains?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, but if you didn't have a sewing machine, you could always use iron on hem tape or you could buy tea towels and hang them up!! :)
      Hope that helps!
      Ashli

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