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DIY Window Boxes & How To Attach To Bricks

Posted on May 20, 2019June 13, 2020 by jennifer froese
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These DIY window boxes are a great way to add year-round curb appeal to your house. I decided to design and build my own after I was unable to find premade window boxes that I loved. The main issue I had with premade window boxes is that most of them are way too small. I wanted mine to look more substantial and proportional to the size of the windows. I also wanted the front of the window boxes to be slightly angled to create a more custom look. I’m so glad I decided to make my own because I love how they turned out!

DIY Window Boxes

During the summer, window boxes look beautiful filled with flowers and vines, or even ornamental grasses. There are so many choices at the nursery in the spring that it can be hard to decide! One year I went with cascading pink petunias that looked great all summer long. They can also look great during the winter – I like to fill mine with mixed evergreen branches and strings of solar lights.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Building the Window Boxes

The finished window box pictured here is 52” long. I decided to make the window box extend 2” longer than the window on each side.

For durability, I chose to use pressure-treated wood. Because of the chemicals used to treat the wood, these window boxes are not suitable for edible plants or herbs. To avoid this issue you can use rot-resistant cedar wood, although it’s a lot more expensive.

Supplies Needed (to make 52″ long window box):

-Two 1″x4″s (10′ long each), pressure treated
-One 1″x6″ (6′ long), pressure treated
-1″x2″ (around 3′ long to make braces, or any scrap wood you already have)
–Exterior wood glue
–Exterior wood screws
-Smaller wood screws to attach braces inside of window box
-Desired stain/sealer (I used a deck stain- Olympic Elite Woodland Oil in Canyon Brown).

Olympic Elite Woodland Oil - Canyon Brown

Directions:

  1. Cut the 1”x4” boards into 52” pieces (gives you four pieces, each 52” long). These will make up the back and the front of the window box.
  2. Cut the 1”x6” board to 52”, you will have a 20” piece remaining. These will make up the bottom and the sides of the window box.
  3. Cut your 1”x2” into eight pieces that are about 4” long to make the braces. These add extra strength to the window box and prevent the boards from warping and separating once they’re filled with soil.
  4. Using a table saw, cut the edges of the two front 1″x4″ boards with the blade tilted 15°. In the picture below I’ve marked which boards you need to cut on an angle to create this look. (You can skip this step entirely if you want a square front instead of an angled one).
  5. Using wood screws and exterior wood glue, assemble the back of the box with two of the 1”x4”s and four of the 1”x2” braces. Make sure your screws are short enough that they don’t go through the other side!
  6. Repeat this process for the front of the window box and your angled 1”x4”s.
  7. Create the end of your window box using the remaining 20” piece of 1”x6”. Use a miter saw with the blade rotated 15° to cut this piece in half on an angle to create the two end pieces. Measure the length needed at the bottom (see the yellow line in the picture below), and cut the 90° angle accordingly.
  8. Now you can assemble the back, bottom, sides and front of the window box together using exterior wood screws. I think I may have used 1-½” or 2” screws.
  9. Lastly, drill a few drainage holes in the bottom of the window box using a large drill bit.
DIY Window Boxes
DIY Window Boxes
DIY Window Boxes

Staining the Window Boxes

After the window boxes were completely assembled, I stained them using an exterior one-step stain/sealer. I used Olympic Elite Woodland Oil in Canyon Brown. I also used this stain/sealer on a pergola and on these DIY Garden Posts for string lights that are fully exposed to the elements and the color has held up extremely well over the past three years. I haven’t noticed any fading at all even though the window boxes are on a south-facing wall.

How to Attach Window Boxes to Bricks

Supplies needed:
–Hammer drill (an ordinary drill won’t work nearly as quickly)
–Concrete anchors
-Masonry drill bit (may be included with concrete anchors)
-Large washers
-L-shaped metal brackets
-Wood screws (to attach bottom of window box to brackets)

To attach these DIY Window Boxes to the brick wall, my dad used a hammer drill with a masonry drill bit. We borrowed a hammer drill from a friend, but you can actually rent one from some Home Depot stores.

Then, we used the Tapcon Concrete Anchors to attach the brackets to the house (make sure they’re level!). The packaging will tell you exactly which masonry drill bit you will need, or it might actually be included.

DIY Window Boxes
Tapcon Concrete Anchors for DIY Window Boxes

After we attached the brackets to the house, we set the window box on the brackets and attached the underside of the window box to the bottom of the brackets using wood screws.

For extra support, we also attached a couple more tapcon screws (with washers) through the back of the window box directly to the house.

We used washers because we were concerned about the weight of the filled window boxes creating too much pressure on the screw heads attaching the back of the window boxes to the house. The large washers help to distribute the weight/force over a much larger area.

DIY Window Boxes
DIY Window Boxes

What do you think of these DIY window boxes? Do you have any favorite plants for window boxes? Leave a comment below!

  • DIY
  • 6 thoughts on “DIY Window Boxes & How To Attach To Bricks”

    1. Kris says:
      April 13, 2021 at 9:05 am

      Your window boxes are fantastic! I also love the color of your house. We’re looking to update our brick rancher, may I be nosey and ask what color your brick is painted? Thanks!

      Reply
      1. jennifer froese says:
        April 13, 2021 at 1:38 pm

        Thank you so much for your kind words! We had the paint color matched at Home Depot to the siding that we used, so I don’t have a specific name, but here is a picture of the top of the can with all the numbers you would need to recreate this same color. If I were doing it over again, I would use matte paint and not satin. The light reflects off all of the angles in the sunlight and it drove me crazy haha!

        Reply
    2. Nicole says:
      April 19, 2021 at 12:07 pm

      I like the simplicity of your window boxes? What is the depth and what brackets did you use?

      Reply
    3. Nicole says:
      April 20, 2021 at 10:35 am

      I like your boxes! What is the width of the side of the box at the bottom and top and what brackets did you use?

      Reply
      1. jennifer froese says:
        April 20, 2021 at 12:15 pm

        Thank you! The bottom of the window box is around 6.75″ deep and the top is around 8 or 9 inches I believe. We don’t live in this house anymore or else I’d go out and measure them for you!! 🙂 The brackets were steel corner braces. I think the exact ones we used are item#64773 at Lowe’s – National Hardware 6-in x 1.125-in x 6-in Steel Corner Brace

        Reply
    4. Kim says:
      May 22, 2021 at 11:53 am

      These are beautiful! When you watered the flowers did the water stain your brick? We have this same set up on our house but the brick is white. My husband has always feared the water would stain the brick if we added a window box.

      Reply

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    cedarandstonefarmhouse

    Jennifer Froese
    🌿 Living a slow, simple life in our 1832 farmhouse | western ny | 5w6 | the secret to having it all is knowing that you already do ✨

    Cedar & Stone Farmhouse
    It’s a bit overdue, but I’d love to take you o It’s a bit overdue, but I’d love to take you on a tour of our chicken coop! I’ve had a years-long dream to have chickens, and we were finally able to get them last spring.
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I just shared a blog post about how we converted this wonky old shed into a perfectly imperfect chicken coop last year! Definitely a labor of love, especially with the pandemic lumber prices 😅
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The link is in my bio if you want to check it out!
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    Despina's Anemone 🧵 Not sure if I have the pat Despina's Anemone 🧵

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    #ad I received the most beautiful items from @Long #ad I received the most beautiful items from @Longaberger last week! I have been such a fan of Longaberger since basically the beginning of time, and I remember going to many Longaberger parties with my mom and aunts and grandma when I was growing up.

Everything that Longaberger makes is such amazing quality, and so many of my pieces have been passed down to me from my grandma and my mom, or they are treasures that I’ve found at the thrift store. Longaberger baskets (and their beautiful pottery) are amazing, heirloom-quality pieces that can be handed down through the generations.

I love being able to look on the bottom of the baskets to see the signature of the person that made it along with the year. Some of my baskets are actually older than I am! I love to think about someday when I can pass my favorite baskets on to Evie to use in her home. 

A couple of the items Longaberger sent me are in their newer colors that I had never seen in person before - Pewter (the Recipe Basket), and Pale Grey (the Baking Dish Basket). The newer colors are SO beautiful! They are a little bit updated, but still a timeless addition. As you can see, they fit right in with our old farmhouse!

I think my favorite piece is the Recipe Box - it is so pretty and practical. I love that you can set the recipe card on top and easily glance at it while cooking. It would definitely make a beautiful housewarming or bridal shower gift!

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    We're excited to announce that our family will be We're excited to announce that our family will be growing a little bigger this year! Baby Froese is due at the end of August and we can't wait! Evie is going to be the best big sister 🥰
    Happy Thursday! It may be snowing quite a bit here Happy Thursday! It may be snowing quite a bit here in NY today, but at least we're one day closer to spring 😂🌿

I planted some flower bulbs in the fall, and I can't wait to see them bloom this year! I chose some giant allium, crocus, tulips and daffodils. For some reason I really don't like planting bulbs AT ALL, but I always try to remember that my future self will thank me.

I also am planning to grow some dahlias for the first time this year, so if you have any favorite varieties send your recommendations my way! 🌸💐
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    Well, hello! There are a few new faces since the l Well, hello! There are a few new faces since the last time I introduced myself! I’m Jen - a wife and mom of an (almost) 2-year old girl named Evelyn Iris. We live in Western NY. I’ve lived here my whole life, and my husband Dave moved to the area when he was in elementary school.

I’m a pharmacist by profession, but shortly before my daughter was born I switched to working just part-time to have more time to spend with her. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and I know how lucky I am to be able to be home with her so much.

I’m a major homebody and LOVE to work on home projects and decorate and garden. We bought my grandma’s house a couple of years ago, and are madly in love with it - a charming, old 1832 saltbox farmhouse. I chose the name Cedar & Stone Farmhouse based on the house, with its cedar siding and the old stone walls that run along the property.

We started keeping bees about 7 years ago at our last house in the suburbs, and are now up to five hives here at the farmhouse.

We also recently started keeping chickens (a lifelong dream of mine!) - we have Dominiques, Easter Eggers, and Blue Orpingtons. We also have one guinea hen (it's a long story, but we started with 10 and sadly have only one left after some coyote attacks).

I’m a type 5 on the Enneagram (a personality test), specifically a 5w6 - also known as “the troubleshooter.” I tend to be very introverted and analytical, and usually do a ton of research before starting anything new (library books, YouTube, google, etc. are definitely my friends haha).

If you’ve taken the Enneagram quiz, I’d love to know your personality type too!
    Brought some of the outdoors inside today 🌿 I j Brought some of the outdoors inside today 🌿 I just love how these branches fill the space above the shelf in the kitchen! This beautiful stoneware pitcher was a @martins.mercantile vintage find!
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I got this pretty laundry basket recently after deciding that if yet-to-put-away laundry is a permanent part of our decor, it might as well look nice while sitting there! The fullness of the laundry basket seems to wax and wane like the moon, but somehow is never completely empty 😅
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I finished a little project last night that I've been wanting to do for such a long time.. I painted my desk chair! I used Fusion Mineral Paint in "Coal Black." It gives such beautiful matte finish and was so easy to work with (plus is zero-VOC). I've done a lot of painting over the years, but I have to say I think I've converted to the Fusion Mineral Paint fan club! There are not a ton of shops that sell it, but it's your lucky day because @buffaloroad_hd hd now carries it at Martin's Mercantile!
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If you are local to the WNY area, you have to check it out at @martins.mercantile (62 Main Street in Akron NY). The grand opening is this Saturday 11/20 from 10am-4pm! You don't want to miss it. They will have door prizes, live music and most importantly food! There are so many amazing vendors to check out, and you can get so many things crossed off your Christmas shopping list (all while supporting small businesses!) #shopsmall Plus you can pick up a jar of our raw honey and maybe some beeswax candles while you're at it - they make great host/hostess gifts for all your holiday get-togethers!!
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