Windowless Office Windows

OK, I tend to be whats called a visual kinda guy. Well in my office where I work I'm stuck in a windowless office. And staring at a gray wall all day is well not very inspiring. They frown on us put up family pictures or anything permanent on the walls. So I came up with my own series of windows that I can swap out per season or holidays. Which gives me something to look out and contemplate my next potential project. Plus I love snow and we haven't be getting much of the stuff lately.

Oh before anyone comments on me copying the other instructable similar to this, no I didn't copy him. Lets just say great minds think alike and leave it at that.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Faux-Window-With-Your-Favourite-View/#discuss

I wanted something not so clean or modern antiseptic looking. So I found a picture of a window frame that is rather dilapidated.
I scaled this to the size I wanted it to be in photoshop. Roughly 30" x 24".

I traced out the window panes with the pen tool an saved them as a path that I could select later on. Then I knocked out the glass portions of the window to leave holes for what ever image I wanted to show through.

I'm a big Snow guy too. And well theres this one location I just love the pictures from Lake Banff National Park in Canada. My first picture of choice was a winter scene (which you can find tons of hires images online). I download the image I like and opened in photoshop. Creating a separate layer in photoshop labeling it Winter. I selected my paths that I had created earlier. And told it to make selection. I then copied the image and then Edit>Paste Special>Paste in Place my new scene into my path holes. Once its placed inside the wholes you may have to scale the image up or down to fill the area properly. Save as PSD file for later edits.

With the photoshop file saved, I opened Adobe Illustrator and placed the .PSD file in a same size document. Then I output it to our large format printer we use here at work for layout proofing.

To keep the wall pretty clean I used six small 1" velcro squares and one long horizontal about 4" long. I place one of each squares at each corner and in the middle on the sides. And then the long piece at the top. The long one helps support the top of print and keeps it from sagging.

Using the these attached to the print I then removed the sticky portion of the velcro backs and then positioned the print carefully and stuck it to the wall. With the velcro firmly attached to the wall I can now carefully remove my window and swap it out for other windows.

With my first window in place. Everyone loved it. So I couldn't just stare at snow all year long(I really could though). So I prepped all the other seasons that I could find of the same Lake Banff for later in the year.

Then I made some a couple crazy windows. Star Trek, Yellow Brick Road to Oz, Aquarium, Halloween. For the Halloween one I found a night pic of Lake Banff then added all the Halloween graphics.

But the craziest, I guess, was the one of me sitting at my desk. I did a temp window of me waving to go on the opposite side of the wall. I used temp glue dots to hold it place for April Fools Day.

Kudo's to the other faux window developer. Love the window frame. Wish I could do that at my office.