Hey friends! Today I am so excited to join the Lifestyle Of Love blog hop hosted by Cindy at County Road 407! A Lifestyle of Love is a group of super talented ladies that get together every other month to bring you beautiful vintage and farmhouse decorating ideas using antique and repurposed goodies!
This month’s theme is architectural salvage! I love architectural salvage used as decor and frankly I wish I had a whole lot more of it in my home!
If you’re coming over from Postcards From The Ridge, isn’t Angie’s architectural salvage style gorgeous?
For my post I decided to share how I upcycled these victorian spandrels to use as decor. I bought these from an architectural salvage store so I don’t know how old these are or the history behind them. All I do know is that it was love at first sight!
So you might be asking yourself – what the heck is a spandrel? I never heard of that name before I wrote this post. I knew what these were – part of a decorative trim mounted under the beam on victorian style porches – but I had no idea what their proper name was. Before I wrote this post I called them “victorian porch running trim” and that’s what I Googled in an attempt to find out what they are actually called. Luckily that was enough info for Google to return this super helpful diagram of a victorian porch from vintagewoodworks.com. As you can see in the diagram, the piece below the spandrels are what is called the running trim. So even though I was using the wrong name for them, it was in the ballpark enough for me to find the right one.
Why was it love at first sight? Because I knew they would work perfectly above the windows in our dining room. I had searched everywhere before I came across the spandrels, but as soon as I saw them I knew the search was over!
Initally I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to use the spandrels over my dining room windows. Do I rebuld them? Or leave them as is and find a creative way to hang them? I tried the latter and could never get it to work, so I decided on rebulding them. My hubs helped me cut and put together everything until we had two spandrels roughly the same size. I wish I would have documented the process, but at the time I wasn’t planning to use this as a blog post. I should know better than that by now! 😁
I hung them up over our dining room windows, and even though I really liked them, the green on them overpowered the rest of the room. I decided to paint the green part a more neutral color. The paint and color I used is Ivory Tower by Retique It Chalk Furniture Paint by Renaissance Furniture Paint.
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I was totally in love when I hung them up after I repainted them! I know some people would have left them green, and if you’re one of those people that’s okay! I loved the green color too, but it just wasn’t working for me when veiwing them as a whole with the rest of the room.
I hope you enjoyed how I upcycled these victorian spandrels to use as decor for my dining room!
Next up on the hop is Common Ground – you will love how Debra incorporates architectural salvage in her home!
Here’s the entire Lifestyle Of Love lineup for this month!
Happy salvaging!
Your Victorian spandrels look great hanging over your windows. You taught me what these are called.
Thanks Paula! I didn’t know what they were called either until I did research for this post 🙂
These are amazing, Michelle! I would never have thought to put them above your window – they look so good. I love the fresh color paint and how you left them a little bit chippy too. They definitely make a statement in your dining room. It’s all gorgeous! Hugs, CoCo
Thanks so much CoCo!
Hi Michelle, I have to admit I’ve never heard the term “spandrels” before but I’m familiar with the type of pieces you’re using. I’m with you on paint. While it’s nice to keep the original, sometimes things just need a little tweaking for our decor. Love them above your windows, they add a whole new level of vintage goodness!
Thanks so much Debra! I never heard the term either until I did research for this post 🙂
Absolute perfection Michelle! They filled in the open space beautifully. I always say make things work for you. Bravo!
Thanks so much Laura!
Michelle, The addition of the spandrels (which I’ve never heard that word) are the perfect addition to your window treatments. I just love the look!
Thanks so much Christy! I never heard the word either until I did research for this post 🙂
Well I learned a new word today! At first I thought spandrel meant the dance people do trying to get on or off their Spanx. Not that I’d know. To me, that’s like putting 2 lbs of ham in a 1 lb bag. LOL!
Anyway, I love those chippy pieces! They look great with the added white paint. I’m putting this on my list of hope-to-find someday. Thank you for joining in. Your dining room looks fantastic!
LOL you’re too funny Cindy! 🙂 I never heard the word either until I was doing research for this post. Thanks for putting on the LOL hop – another great one in the books!
Michelle,
As a Victorian soul, I love this idea!! Looks great!! Thanks for sharing!!
Hugs,
Deb
Thanks so much Debbie! I’m definitely a Victorian soul too!
Michelle, I’ve never heard of spandrels but love learning new words, lol. Maybe a spandrel is just a baby spindle, haha. Anyway, I’ve always loved how you’ve used them over your windows. They fit the space perfectly and make a nice statement. And they look right at home with all of your other vintage goodies.
Thanks so much Angie! And I think you may be right about the spandrels just being baby spindles! 🙂
They are so cool, Michelle! Of course, I loved them with the green, but I know you are more of an all-white girl;) Thanks for teaching us the name of these beauties! They look perfect above your windows in your tall space; love it@
Thanks Lora! I really loved the green and I was so bummed they didn’t work in the room – they looked a lot better in the pictures than they did in real life. I hate when that happens!
Such an interesting architectural element to add to your dining space!
Thanks so much Amy!
Michelle
These turned out so great. I love them over your windows. I plan to share a link to your post on Sunday, Dirt Road Adventures. I appreciate the inspiration.
Thank you so much Rachel! I’m happy you like these and I so appreciate the share!
The spandrels look amazing above the windows! I am a green girl as you know, but I agree that they fit better with your decor as you have painted them. I love that you shared the architectural diagram too! I always called spandrals “porch spindle thingies.” Great to learn something new and be inspired by chippy-farmhouse (Victorian) salvage at the same time!
So fun hopping with you as always!
Thank you so much Amber! I’m so happy this inspired you!
These look amazing above your windows! Absolutely beautiful! I love using old architectural pieces in my home too! So pretty!!!