Repurposed Wrought Iron Gate

Rusty Love.

I found an old gate (actually a pair that meet in the middle - how cool!) in my woods. They were laying in the ground, half buried in earth and practically smothered under vine and vegetation. With a bit of effort I was able to free them and get a gander at their vintage beauty and aged patina.

Gate used as outdoor decor two years ago.  Oh and a repurposed chimney pot (topper) for a planter!
(That deck is now stained dark espresso.  I forgot how bad it looked.  Sheesh!)

I repurposed the gates as landscape decor for awhile and then moved them into the garage during the winter to save them further hardship from the elements.  They were rusting away like crazy.  The black finish was peeling and crumbling off from the slightest touch or movement of the gates.  They have been in-hiding (in the garage) for a year, but never-out-of-mind (my mind that is).

Rustic Window Treatment?

Yesterday I decided to clean one up enough to bring indoors.  Boy, it was a lot of work scraping off the peeling finish and rubbing like mad with a wire brush to get the loose "debris" off.  A burst of air from the leaf blower to get any remaining dust off and it was ready for a new purpose!

I love the look of RUST and that is what I was left with  . .  . some great surface pitting too!

Pitted Perfection.

I had a master plan for these gates (well, one of them at least).  I would repurpose it as a window treatment.  Now hear me out.  There is a practical reason for this.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of draperies or window treatments, and when able, will opt for "open" windows.

A view from outside.  Ya think the birds will see it?

My large picture window was apparently loved by my feathered friends..  They loved it so much in fact that they would often fly right into it to give it a kiss (poor little guys).  No fatalities seen but a few who undoubtedly saw stars.  In an effort to warn them of the glass, I came up with this solution.  Hopefully it works.  I haven't heard any BANGS! yet today.  It will take me a while to get used to it.  I'm not warming up to it quickly as I miss the unobstructed OPEN VIEW, but at least it doesn't restrict the light too much.

So, good idea, bad idea, what do ya think?

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