How to Repurpose a Vintage Window Into a Cabinet

Are you looking for a way to repurpose an old chippy window? In this post, I’ll share how I repurposed a vintage window into a cabinet in one afternoon.

Repurposing vintage items into new, functional pieces is a wonderful way to add unique charm to your home while also embracing sustainability.

Transforming a vintage window into a cabinet not only provides you with a custom piece of furniture but also preserves a bit of history.

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The Inspiration Piece

While my husband and I were on a boat trip in Port Townsend, Washington, we went to my favorite place in town to shop, the antique mall.

We spotted this cabinet and snapped a picture, knowing that we would one day use it as inspiration to recreate something similar, using one of our vintage windows at home.

I knew mine would be more beaten up and chippy. We originally had crown molding on top, but it was too much for the wall space above our toilet in our powder room.

The Materials Used for Our Cabinet Project

There’s some crown molding in the picture above that we had left over from another project.

We originally added it to the cabinet but decided to take it off at the end due to the size of the space we were installing the cabinet in.

Steps to Repurposing a Vintage Window Into a Cabinet

Most windows won’t need this step, but ours had little “dog ears” that needed to be removed with a chop saw before we could move forward with the project.

Constructing a Frame Box

We used reclaimed pine boards, originally installed in our home for shelving, to make a box for our cabinet. Using a table saw, the boards were ripped to 5″ wide for both shelving and the frame.

The boards for the shelving, top, and bottom of the cabinet were cut to 18.5″ long. The boards for the sides were cut to 32″ long.

Here are the pieces we cut to create the cabinet frame and the shelves that go into the cabinet.

We used wood glue on all joints to increase the strength of the cabinet.

After applying the glue, and before nailing, make sure the corner is square.

Then we used a nail gun to secure the joints in place while the glue dried.

And here is our framed box for the cabinet.

Add a Tongue and Groove Back to the Cabinet

After cutting the tongue and groove to the proper length of 32″ with a chop saw (any saw will do), we installed it to the back of the cabinet. Again, I glued and nailed this in place around all the edges.

I drew a line with my carpenter’s pencil to show where I should place my nails to secure the shelves.

Install Hinges and Cabinet Latch

Install the hinges, and the cabinet latch by predrilling holes and using wood screws.

Caulk, Putty, and Paint

Now it’s time to caulk the corners and fill the nail holes. Because we chose to leave the crown molding off in the end, we didn’t need to paint the cabinet. We just left it chippy and beaten up.

I wanted the tongue and groove to have more of a dark, rustic look, so I applied the stain with a foam brush.

If you look closely, you will see that I did a terrible job taping the shelves off, and I got stain on some of them. I’m just going to pretend that I did it that way on purpose and it gives it more of a vintage feel!

What did I learn from this DIY project?

I wish we would have had the crown molding attached to the top as the inspiration picture did, but then we would have had to hang it somewhere else in the house. And we do not have the luxury of free wall space.

I’ll be switching out the pull for something bigger and chunkier. For the next project, I will do a much better job taping the shelves when I stain.

But I think you can get the idea here, and make adjustments as needed. I know you’ll agree that a cabinet is a great way to repurpose a vintage window.

Until next time,

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