D.I.Y Time: How to decorate a stairway window

Stairway window: before and after

The window above the stairs looked bare and boring so we decided it was time to decorate it. During the trip to Ikea yesterday, we found some white pots, a couple of white decorative brackets and a random shelf in the discount section - perfect! The first thing we did was put up the shelf. This was a fairly simply process and involved some accurate measurements (with the help of a spirit level ofcourse) to make sure the shelf was level nothing would fall off, and then 2 holes were drilled for each of the brackets. Finally the brackets were secured to the wall with a couple of screws and the shelf was placed on top.

Before: Plain boring window

The shelf was mounted using supplies from Ikea

Already the window looked a lot better. Next thing to do was to add some decorations. Here's what we used.

The pots and a mini crate

Silk flowers and some foam blocks

I selected around 25 stems of mixed silk flowers, I went for a 'Cottage' theme with lots of shades of pinks. I used artificial flowers so I wouldn't have to water them and have water and dirt dripping down the walls. The shop ran out of dried flower foam blocks so I had to grab the wet version. The foam was cut to shape and place snugly in the pots and crate. Now it was time to arrange the flowers. I made sure that as I was arranging I kept turning to check that the arrangement looked good from all sides. Being a window arrangement, this was important because I wanted it to have street appeal.

After: Newly decorated window ledge

Looking at our new window decorations from the lounge

Voila! The finished product! I thought it looked quite sweet... a nice contrast to the modern TV and entertainment unit.

A pot for the front balcony setting

I had a pot and some lavenders left over so I made a little arrangement for the front balcony setting, just outside the window we just decorated.

An arrangement for the back

Didn't want the outdoor setting out the back to miss out, so I decorated that with a simple vase and added some flowers picked from the garden.