While all of the other windows in our house were replaced sometime in the nineties, our kitchen window is a “vintage classic.” It’s an old, wooden-framed window with a storm on the outside. It’s also inoperable. The rope pulleys must have been removed ages ago. And it is several-layers-painted-shut. Luckily, we don’t actually need to open the window, because we have a screen door at the back of the house.

The “plan” on moving in, around 2009, was to get one of those fancy garden windows installed. But, that particular reno was pretty far down on our list of priorities or budget-worthy fixes. So, a few years ago, I put some shelves into the window, myself.

It was a fairly easy DIY. I measured the length of the space inside the window horizontally, from frame to frame several times over and sketched out a quick design on graph paper. The lower of the 3 shelves would have to be 2/3 the width of the uppers, I realized, because it was to sit in front of the bulky lower glass [30 minutes]. Then, I went to the Home Depot and had some white melamine-coated boards split and sawn into lengths sized to fit. I grabbed some L-shaped brackets and wood screws while I was there, too [30 minutes]. Back at home, with ye olde drill, I attached the shelves to the wooden frame of the window in a flash [30 minutes]. All in all, in just about 90 minutes, and for about $30, I had a cheerful kitchen window garden.

The winter, for me, is the best time for my window garden. I bring in as many geraniums as I can from the outside, as well as all our front-porch plants. I’ll grow a few herbs. And I have a rotating display of wise old succulents. [Okay, I say this now. But, in summer, when my plants are outside, the window garden makes a pretty great place to store my preserves, too.]

Just the other day, I looked over and realized that one of my geraniums had produced an early birthday gift, a winter flower.

What’s your favourite hack? Do tell!