I didn’t particularly like the gas fireplace insert that came with our older home, but a new one was not in the budget.  My next thought was to buy a fireplace screen to cover it up, but they were all expensive, unattractive, or you could see through them, which rather defeated the purpose.  When I fell in love with an old stained glass window in an antique store, I knew that I had to have it, but could it serve as a fireplace screen if I attached some shelf brackets?  I decided to buy it and figure out the “how to” later.

After some thought, the answer came after I bought the shelf brackets and realized that the metal part inside could be unscrewed and turned upside down, such that the large part where the screw was inserted was at the bottom and the smaller part was at the top.  Once the screw was attached to the stained glass window, the window sat on the brackets, even without wood glue.

Still, for added strength and stability, I used wood glue and secured the bond with C-clamps to dry overnight.  Incidentally, I chose these particular shelf brackets because the open design would allow me to easily attach the C-clamps.

Once the brackets were attached, I taped off the glass and painted all of the wood black.

It should be noted that a fireplace screen such as this should not be placed in front of an open flame.  Our fireplace has a gas insert, so all flames are behind glass.  A fire lit up the stained glass, but we just don’t light our fireplace all that often.  I eventually tried Christmas lights hung on a couple of nails behind the glass.  Much better!

The warm lights give the room a nice amber glow at night.

Please click here for a printable list of tools, materials, and instructions.

Happy Decorating!

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Some posts on this site include affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please know that the opinions expressed are entirely our own.