Hey guys! Boy, do I have a fun and easy high-impact decor project for you all that is not only done on a tiny budget but will have people thinking you spent a ton of money to have such a unique piece in your beautiful home.
I have seen similar mirrors go for a lot more and although I love them so much I just can't justify spending the big price tag that goes along with all of them.
Here is a group of mirrors that inspired me so much from Pottery Barn! Isn't it gorgeous??
As stunning as this mirror is from Pottery Barn for $399 each. I just had to see if this was something I could recreate on my own for a much smaller price tag! I made this windowpane mirror using mostly all supplies from the Dollar Tree and a few extras you will need from your local hardware store.
So let's get started guys!
*You can also watch my Instagram video tutorial on this project here.
What You Will Need:
20 Dollar Tree Mirrors that measure 11 ½” x 9 1/2” (you don’t have to buy 20 if you are looking to make a smaller version)
Large piece of plywood, cut and measured to your size of mirrors (you can get this done at Home Depot)
Spray paint in colour of your choice (I used Rustoleum Antique Brass)
Paint chemical stripper such as Citristrip (Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon)
Easy off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner (Walmart)
Saran wrap
Flat edge Scraping tool
Hot Glue Gun (Walmart)
Gorilla Glue Sticks (Walmart)
Step One:
Take out all of your mirrors carefully from their frames and in a well-ventilated area spray paint your frames in the colour of your choosing. Allow them to fully dry before handling them. I used Rustoleum Antique Brass spray paint on mine to get the old age look.
Step Two:
While your frames are drying start to work on ageing your mirrors. You will need a large space to get this done, such as floor space in a garage or a kitchen table. Be sure to lay down a large drop cloth to do this as it can get very messy. Turn over all of your mirrors painted side up, and lay them down all next to each other touching in rows. Now put some gloves so you don’t get this stuff on your hands. Apply your paint stripper with a rag or a sponge all over the backs of the mirrors.
Lay some saran wrap down on top of the paint stripper so it doesn’t dry out. Check the dry time on your paint stripper, as they all vary. I had to wait 15 minutes for mine to dry and I found if I waited any longer it dried out too much and was too hard to scrape off. Once it's dried for the allotted time, you can start to unwrap each mirror individually and start to scrape off your paint with your flat edge scraper.
Try to be careful not to over scrape or you could scratch your mirrors. Apply even pressure to get most of it off in one single motion. Be mindful that this part does not need to be perfect, you DO NOT need to get off all the paint in this step! The areas with the paint off will be the areas that the ageing will shine through.
I didn’t want my mirrors to be overly aged-looking so I didn’t need to scrape off a lot of paint. Once you feel you have taken off enough of the paint wipe off the residue with a wet rag and be sure they are fully dry before you move onto the next step.
Step 3:
Now you are going to age your mirrors. This part is kinda fun as you can start to see it happen quickly! I worked on a group of five mirrors at a time. Spray your oven cleaner lightly down and across the scraped back part of your mirrors. Don't hold your spray can too close, I would say about 20" back so you don't create big blobs onto the mirrors.
Within about 15 seconds you will start to see your oven spray turning the mirrors black where the spray is touching. Quickly take a wet rag and wipe off the oven cleaner from the back of the mirrors. Pick up your mirrors now and turn them around! You should be able to see the black speckles through your mirror, instantly creating an aged effect! Repeat this step for the remainder of the mirrors.
Step 4:
Layout your plywood and get your hot glue gun ready. Put all your mirrors back into their frames and set them all down on your plywood arranging your aged mirrors in a way that suits your style. I grouped some of the more aged-looking ones more together to sort of giving a more natural effect, but you do whatever suits your fancy!
After you’ve figured out where you want your mirrors to lie, start to hot glue all of your mirrors down and onto the plywood. Try to get your mirrors to really butt up against one another to get a tight seamless look to the best of your ability. Once you are all done hot-gluing allow the mirrors to set for a bit of extra time to be sure it's all stuck.
Step 5:
Yay, you are all done making your mirror now!! Now you can lean this beauty upon a console table, a mantel above a fireplace or on top of a dresser. If you are wanting to hang this piece on a wall it can be done as well. I would invest in some handy dandy monkey hooks which are my most fave hooks to hang heavier items. I buy mine at Home Depot, but you can also get them on Amazon here. I would screw in some picture hanging rings to the back of the plywood evenly across the back then measure where they are situated and then poke your monkey hooks into your drywall in relation to your rings. Then hang your mirror into the hooks and voila there it is in all its glory!!
I have seen so many versions of this DIY by you guys on Instagram! Keep sharing them with me, I just love seeing what size and colour you've made yours, and how you've styled it! It creates a huge impact in our foyer and I couldn't be happier with how it's turned out and how it added that extra sparkle to this space!
Have a great day!
Dale
