So, this build comes with a little bit of a story. I'm sure many of you have heard it, but just in case you haven't I'll give you the highlights. To start with, last August I was informed that my company was going to be moving to a new building. This was very exciting. It was going to have all of the amenities, save one... windows. No, I'm not talking about Microsoft. Anyhow, this led me to create some holographic window replacements. So, in my quest to create new office decore. I ran accross these little beauties below.

Well, of course this gave me grand ideas. Notice that was back in January. So after mulling it over for months on end, I came up with a design. I was able to find almost everything on sale and for only a few bucks. (Of course times 2, since that's how many I made). The lanterns themselves only ran $5.00 a piece. The shelf brackets were $4.00 for two. The decorative corner protectors were only $2.00 a package which supplied me with four in each bag. This was enough to do the project with only one bag of each size. (Total $4.00). Finally, the oak. $3.00 each. I only needed two. So over the course of several months I collected all of the items and assembled what you see below. Oh, of course the Ivy cost me an arm and a leg... But it was worth it I think.

The new and improved

Those lanterns were very popular and performed really well. In fact, a very close friend of mine (For over 20 years) insisted I send her one of my creations. So I decided an upgrade would be nice, and i could send her the others.

The wood was a touch more at $4.00 each. But I only needed the 2. Using some Oak scrap from another project, I fashioned the bases.

And added some swag I picked up from Hobby Lobby.

And, as you can see I picked up the corner pieces for only 2 dollars for a set of 4. The round pieces are cabinet door knobs I got from their junk bin for a quarter each.

. And yes, I added a little crushed red velvet I had left over from the "Pardon Me" project.

Some decorative shelf brackets would act as the lantern supports.

Using some cabinet knob plates, I drilled holes into the backs to run my USB cables through.

Here's a little comparison between the original and the upgrade.

The finished products turned out very well.