DIY

How to Rehab a Mirror

Hello friends! I hope you are enjoying a great weekend! I am posting a day early on account of Hurricane Irma. Yes, she is making landfall now in south Florida, and we should be feeling her effects in central Florida beginning at 8:00 tonight. We are as prepared as we can be! How do you handle stressful situations? I love doing anything that preoccupies my mind. I painted a mirror yesterday while preparing for the storm! Join me on this adventure as I show you how to rehab a mirror!

How to Rehab a Mirror

Disclaimer: For your convenience, I have included affiliate links. This simply means if you click one of the links and buy something, I may receive a commission, but do not worry- you will not pay a dime more.

Step One to Rehab a Mirror

The first step in rehabbing a mirror is to, well, acquire your mirror! Over summer, our washing machine died. Friends, you never appreciate an appliance more than when you no longer have the ability to readily use it! That was me, this summer. And the machine chose to die two days before we left for our vacation in Michigan. Ugh. Thank goodness for awesome in-laws that welcome you in their home for a week- with three loads of dirty laundry in tow! When we returned from Michigan, we had to deal with the broken washer. Ironically, our local Habitat for Humanity store had the exact model of our washer. We purchased it for parts, and within hours, our washer was operational again! I love a happy ending! And the icing on the cake is the store had a great collection of gorgeous mirrors! While I was not necessarily in the market for one, I snagged this beauty anyway:

How to Rehab a Mirror

Step Two to Rehab a Mirror

Next, I had to clean this baby! It was dusty and had a weird coating on it- still not sure what it was, exactly. I used a little TSP mixed w/ water and bleach, and a lot of elbow grease, to get all the dirt and gunk off this piece! (I did not take a picture of this step- sorry!) A dry towel was used to remove the cleaning product.

 

Step Three to Rehab a Mirror

For the third step, give the wood frame a good sanding! You want to rough up the surface enough so it is smooth, but not so much that you change the shape of the wood. My mirror has some decorative molding on the top, so I lightly sanded so I did not alter this cute feature! I used 80 grit sand paper.

How to Rehab a Mirrir
I sanded the edges and corners well.

How to Rehab a Mirror

How to Rehab a Mirror
In this picture, I tried to model a side by side of half the sanded frame, and the other half not sanded.

Why sand the wood before painting, you might ask? Sanding the wood serves two purposes: It removes any finishing surface that already exists, and the newly sanded surface allows for the paint to stick better to the surface. The last thing you want when painting any piece of furniture is to create a beautifully painted piece that chips at the slightest touch! Sanding helps prevent this from happening to your hard work.

After sanding, I cleaned up the dust with a damp cloth.

Step Four to Rehab a Mirror

I really wanted to keep this piece functional as a mirror. To rehab it, I decided on a farmhouse country feel by painting it white, and then distressing it for a slightly rustic look. Glamorous- can you SEE IT?! Before we can begin to dress it with gorgeous paint, we need to tape off the mirror, to avoid drips and bleeds in places we do not want.

How to Rehab a Mirror

How to Rehab a Mirror

Step Five to Rehab a Mirror

Next, comes the super fun part- painting your mirror! I decided to use a stencil brush to do this job, given the intricate molding on the piece.

How to Rehab a Mirror

Here is my mirror after one coat of white chalk paint:

How to Rehab a Mirror
Chalk paint is the BOMB!! I love the way it provides thick, solid coverage without a shiny appearance! One downside is purchasing chalk paint can be pricey, so I make my own. Here is the recipe:

  • Two cups latex paint (you choose the color)
  • 5 TBSP plaster of paris
  • 3 TBSP water

Works like a charm every time!

I used chalk paint to makeover the table in my foyer. Click here to see the super easy tutorial!

Here is the mirror after the second coat of chalk paint:

How to Rehab a Mirror

I took a thin craft brush to get paint in the most tiny of crevices.

How to Rehab a Mirror

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Step Six to Rehab a Mirror

With my mirror now a vibrant white, I decided to tone it down slightly by distressing it with sand paper.

When distressing any piece of furniture, you can decide how much or how little of an impact you want! I went for a moderate amount of distressing, enough that you could see some of the natural wood, but not so much to make the mirror look super rustic.

How to Rehab a Mirror
A close-up of the distressing:

How to Rehab a Mirror

How to Rehab a Mirror

Step Seven to Rehab a Mirror

And finally, you get to enjoy your piece! I took a damp cloth to the wood to collect the dust from the distressing, and some good old Windex to clean up the mirror. Ultimately, I plan to place this mirror on the landing of our stairs once the wall is repainted. For now, I took some pics of the final product with it in my dining room:

How to Rehab a Mirror

See my striped dresser peeking in the mirror? Here is the tutorial on how I painted beautiful stripes on a dresser!

How to Rehab a Mirror

How to Rehab a Mirror
So there you have it, friends!

Here are some other fun DIY projects you can check out:

How to Paint Stripes on a Wall

How to Paint Stripes on a Dresser

Here is a quick shot of the dresser:

How to Rehab a Mirror

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How to Rehab a Mirror

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It is time for me to get back to the reality of the impending hurricane. I hope everyone in Irma’s path remains safe and out of harm’s way! God bless you all!!