Inspiration to Creation - A Greenhouse Window Light Fixture

It was a regular day. Just like any other. I was in one of the local antique stores in my area and I was simply enjoying being in my "happy place". I turned the corner, and then I saw it...

Instant inspiration!

One of the booth vendors had this clever light fixture on the ceiling in her space. The more I looked at it, the more I thought, "I could totally make that!"

I searched through the rest of the store in pursuit of a six-paned window to replicate this ADORABLY clever idea.

No luck.

I took off to Cricket's Antiques and Garden Market - another favorite spot - just up the road and I found something better than a regular old window...

Check out this bad boy...

This, dear friends, is a 125 year old greenhouse window from England. It's 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

Well hello, gorgeous!

I grabbed my staple gun, pliers/wire cutters, and set to work covering the back with chicken wire. (You can pick up chicken wire at your local hardware store. It comes in various widths and lengths.)

I had never worked with chicken wire before and let me tell you, it's a beast. It's unruly from the minute you unwind it and it does not submit well. Looking back, I should have worn gloves while I was wrangling it onto the window frame. My hands still have scratches on them.

After stapling the wire down, I flipped it over and applied a coat of Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil, which works like a dream to revive dry old wood. I put one coat on, and all of the yummy details popped out on the surface of the wood.

I just can't even...

After stringing some twinkle lights across the surface, I attached some eye screws and the hubs helped me install hooks in the ceiling in our bedroom. Let's face it, he's pretty much awesome.

Sorry for the blurry photo. We were balancing on the bed the whole time and a padded mattress doesn't provide much stability!

After running an extension cord up the wall and plugging it in, we now have a new light fixture!

We're both so happy with it. Once we get our navy blue door-turned-headboard up, the wire will be hidden on the wall and we'll have more pops of blue in the room.

Mission accomplished!