DIY Cathedral Window Frame (Cut Your Own!)

7 Materials
$40
1 Day
Medium

For the cost of a piece of plywood and leftover paints, you can make your own "Fixer Upper inspired" gothic cathedral window. I embrace farmhouse elements that blend well with my decor and the cathedral window frames that are so popular are one of those "must-have farmhouse elements" that I can’t stop thinking about. Figuring out how to measure on a curve was the tricky part. Once we designed the window by measuring it out on the wood itself, the rest was a breeze.


Our design is reversible - you can any color you want on both sides! Just purchase our pattern from our store and you instantly receive a PDF that will need to be sent to a local copy/print store to print and enlarge.

PATTERN 1:  Small Gothic Window Frame Pattern 22" x 40". Once you purchase YOU RECEIVE A PDF that can be enlarged at a print shop. You cut out the paper pattern, trace onto wood, then use a jigsaw to cut.

PATTERN 2:  Large Cathedral Window Frame Pattern 44" x 46". Once you purchase YOU RECEIVE A PDF that can be enlarged at a print shop. You cut out the paper pattern, trace onto wood, then use a jigsaw to cut.

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET:  

A PDF DOWNLOAD. You then send the PDF to a local print shop where they can enlarge it (around $9 or less). We created this pattern since so many people wanted to make their own. Since he already had it drawn in CAD, we turned it into a pattern for Hometalkers icon

CALL A PRINT SHOP TO PRINT YOUR PATTERN & TRACE ONTO PLYWOOD

Call a local print shop to have your PDF enlarged (we suggest Staples or similar store). Since this is a custom order, you will need to speak to the print tech directly. After speaking with a print technician, we suggest that you bring the PDF into the store on a thumb drive to talk about your enlarging options.


Request black and white engineering prints. The cost should be approximately $5.00 for each print.  


You then cut out the enlarged paper PDF, trace onto your wood, and cut with a jigsaw.


Then I smoothed the edges by sanding all the sides. The large window took about 2 hours to cut.

FINISHING OPTIONS (Create a reversible finish) 

If you use plywood, you can finish both sides to create a reversible finish. In my example, I stained ALL sides (front and back) with Early American stain from Varathane.

ON ONE SIDE:

Overtop of the Early American, I used white wax to give it a lighter look.

SIDE 1 RESULTS:  

The whitewashed side has the heavier application of Annie Sloan White wax over the stain.

SIDE 2 RESULTS: 

When you turn it over, this side is stained with Early American stain with only a very light brushing of white wax.

Let us know if you need coaching on how to finish your piece, or with cutting. We are happy to help! Below is a video demonstrating HOW TO ENLARGE TO MAKE A HEADBOARD icon

icon How Rick and Wanda used our pattern to make a KING headboard

Resources for this project:
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Jeanette @SnazzyLittleThings.com
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  • Loretta Knorr Loretta Knorr on Mar 22, 2019

    can you make it larger?

  • Donna Donna on Jun 21, 2019

    What type of plywood did you use?

  • Anita Anita on Sep 27, 2019

    When I click on the link for the cathedral arch pdf, I get "This shop doesn't have a website yet. If you're the store owner, you can log in here." Can you help with this?


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  • Sharron Bennett Sharron Bennett on Mar 23, 2019

    Thanks for sharing and that is just so beautiful and I want to make one.

  • Joanie Joanie on Mar 23, 2019

    Wow!.........with some frosted glass or some kind of glass would be so beautiful.......something I would give to my church!! It is lovely!!

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