If you can clean it up enough to remove fly droppings, etc., then I would choose to not paint the window frame. I might do a coat of poly to seal it though.

I think this frame would make a wonderful art piece with the mirror or without. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!!

I have done several and have 4 more exactly like yours waiting in the wings. Here is the best and biggest.

Before pic:

It is propped on my mantle in our master BR as it is SO heavy and DH refuses to hang it...also I can't decide if I want it hung. Here are 2 others that are smaller and I have the mirrors for them but have not fastened them either. It is way easier to get the mirror to cover the whole back of the window...also cheaper . That way you leave the panes of glass in place and just clean it. You can affix the mirror in several ways. If you Google old windows and also look on the Trash to Treasure forum there are a lot of really great ideas for them.

Before:

After:

Hope this helps. Your window is a beauty ! c

Hi PattyK 64,

We were at an Art Fair a couple of years ago and one of the vendors were selling window frames, just like yours. What they did was back each pane with different patterned quilting squares. The frames were cleaned up but left in their orignal state. The glass remained. If you have a country look they were really cool.

It's a great looking frame by the way.

Trailrunner: Thanks so much for the pics and idea! Very helpful. I will do a litle more searching for ideas.

kaelriver: That quilt idea sounds pretty!

I'm just trying to figure out now how best to clean it, would TSP be OK, or would it be too hard on the wood?

Good ideas so far.

I had an old painted window once a back hallway. I had a local hardware store cut glass (much less than framing shop). I pressed ferns from the yard and put between the glass. Put drop of hot glue at all corners (so it wouldn't show from front). The ferns don't hold their color forever, but always looked pretty.

You could make (enlarge?) copies of old family photos to use in place of ferns.

For cleaning the window wood and the glass I just used a green scrubby and spray window cleaner . It gor everything off. You really don't need anything as harsh as TSP. I then used waterlox on the wood and then I used the wood feeder wax that I had in a bottle. It gave it a nice sheen. You can also use a water base poly if they are going to be in the house. Hope you get more ideas. There are some great web sites for old windows. c

Patty --

I have done what you're doing.

If the caulk is old and hard, try getting it out with a wood chisel.

Will you be putting the mirrors in yourself or will you be paying someone else to do it?

If you want to do it yourself, you should buy yourself a framing gun. You will save yourself SO much time and angst. A glazing gun fires little metal points which hold the mirror in place. You can do a whole window in about five minutes. Looks like this:

Not terribly expensive, and I used mine SO often for framing projects...

Otherwise you'll be messing with caulk or tiny nails, and drive yourself crazy...

mclark is right that little gun is a great device. c

I took antique botanical prints and put them in each of the squares so that the squares acted liked frames for the prints.

To get the old glazing out, heat it with a hair dryer and it'll come out very easily. Softly lifting with a putty knife will prevent the glass from breaking as it might with a wood chisel.

I'd leave the wood stained and then finish with a coat of poly. I think it's a shame to paint perfectly good and nice looking wood.

So many great ideas everyone! I appreciate it, and will post pics when it's done. :)

What a great window! I can't wait to see how your project turns out because I have several old divided light windows that we replaced with new ones and I'd like to do something with them.

I had one that was similiar. I had mirror cut and attached it to the back myself with mirror clips, and kept the original glass. I also attached a candle votive the the bottom front in the middle and hung. I love the idea of the botanical prints, just attaching them to the back of glass.

I love the old chippy windows! I've used Posca markers on a couple of them. These are the markers that used car dealers use to write on windshields. Washes off with rubbing alcohol if you decide you no longer want it there.

I've also used transparencies with graphics I copied from the computer in the smaller panes of another window. Looks like painted glass.
All these are posted somewhere at the Trash to Treasure forum, you can find lots of other window ideas there too.