{Upcycling, Home Decor Edition}

We’re officially at Tuesday, which means we survived Monday!! I am getting all settled into my new apartment and so far I am loving every minute of it. My mom and dad were rockstars with my move and each played a significant role: my mom helped decorate while my dad was phenomenal with moving the heavy pieces of furniture. He also built my bed but his piece de resistance of the move was unquestionably the window shutters.

You know how on HGTV there’s always a handsome carpenter paired with the designer? Those were my parents this week! Here’s the backstory on my shutters:

When we moved into our current house 20+ years ago, there were these old window shutters in the basement left by the owners. Rather than putting them out on the curb, they have taken residence in our garage because as my mom said, “They were just too cool to throw away.” However, these window shutters never got any love. Cue new apartment.

We wanted to come up with a way to divide my bedroom area from the rest of the apartment but remember, we’re on a decor budget! I thought of the window shutters and the project began!

First, my mother power washed the white shutters and then painted them a sophisticated blueish green to match these cushions we found at Pier 1 for $20/each:

Then, my father diligently lined up the 3 shutters so they faced the same direction and put these piano hinges on the sides. We had one shutter taller than the others so my dad cleverly put that one in the middle. The piano hinges were tricky to line up but my dad patiently worked with them to ensure they were level. My dad and mom make a great team: she decorates and my dad works out all the logistics to turn ideas into reality! {P.S. Their 27th wedding anniversary is coming up in TEN DAYS!}

Surprisingly, my dad let me play with a power tool:

Voila! The finished product looks awesome as a room divider. It certainly adds to the “Cottage Chic” look I was going for in my design. Thanks, Dad! You’re the greatest!

P.S.  A couple of weeks ago, my mother & I went to an antique shop around the corner from my house in New York. We noticed the shop had window shutters similar to ours so we inquired about the price. Would you believe vintage window shutters are going for $100+/piece?? This knowledge makes my window shutters all the more precious!