Mirror Revamp!

Hi, this is Karen from A house full of sunshine. Today I’ll be showing you how I breathed new life into a tired old mirror – quickly and cheaply!

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

This mirror was a wedding present well over a decade ago. Back in the day, Moroccan-style mirrors with cage doors were a hot trend. Until, a few years later, they weren’t. This mirror was a solid, good quality piece, but the has-been styling was seriously dating our home. We eventually moved the mirror into storage until we figured out what we wanted to do with it. And there it remained for the next four and a half years.

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

Then, one day, it occurred to me how easy it would be to bring this mirror back on trend.

The biggest issues I had with it were those doors – 90’s harem style, anyone? – and the painted woodwork everywhere, which makes the mirror look too busy. But both of those things are easily fixed.

First, I removed the doors. The hinges took a bit of prying and levering with a screwdriver and pliers, but they eventually popped off. Aaaahhhh – better already. Fancy being able to actually see a reflection in a mirror! What a novelty.

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

I sanded down the holes left by the hinges being pried loose.

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… then spackled the holes.

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I taped and cling-wrapped the mirror in preparation for spray-painting. Then I gave the frame a coat of Rust-o-leum spray paint in Gloss Black.

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

After the first coat dried, I went over the whole surface with fine grade steel wool. Then I added a second coat of spray paint.

 in preparation for spray-painting, 

This is when the glossy brilliance of the paint really began to shine through.

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All of that intricate fretwork which looked so tired and busy before, is now unified and simplified by the black paint. Paring back the color palette puts the focus squarely on the beautiful patterns and flourishes in the frame.

 in preparation for spray-painting, 

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

A simple update that cost only a few dollars for a can of spray-paint and took a matter of minutes to execute. Now, instead of looking dated and woebegone in a storage facility someplace, my lovely mirror is looking hip and sophisticated as it takes pride of place in our entry.

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

Mirror revamp by A house full of sunshine for Practically Functional

I’m just kicking myself that I didn’t do it sooner!

I’m part of a Fall home tour this week, and I’d love you to pop over to A house full of sunshine on Thursday for the first complete home tour I’ve shared in our new home. I have lots of beautiful spaces I’ve been working hard to finish, and I can’t wait to share them with you! If you want to be sure you don’t miss the post, you can subscribe here to receive my posts in your inbox. I share home decorating and DIY projects, kids activities, recipes and other home-making goodness.

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Thanks for having me today!

Karen @ a house full of sunshine

My name is Karen and I'm a sleep-deprived stay-home Mama to three cute little hooligans. I live in Australia, and as a part-time interior decorator and ex-teacher of Creative Arts, my passion is expressing creativity in the home. On my blog you'll find decorating ideas, kids' activities, recipes, and organising projects, inspiring you to live your most creative life and love the home you're in. I hope you'll join me at a house full of sunshine.

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Reader Interactions

  1. Kim says

    10 years ago

    Love the mirror! It looks so beautiful! I did something similar. I had a round mirror in my bathroom that was brown. I decided that it would look great above my bed against the dark brown accent wall. So I spray painted it silver to match my side lamps. It came out so nice and really made the wall pop!

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