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DIY: Gaudy to Gorgeous
The beauty of being a SAHM is that I have time for projects around the house - and when you're crafty and budget-savvy, DIY is definitely the way to go.
Recently, we moved into a new house and of course, my brain went into full Joanna-Gaines-DIY mode. We went from a semi-crowded row home to a spacious townhouse with almost 800 square feet more. It was a clean slate to decorate, and since we didn't have too much decoration in the old house, this was time for my creative self to go wild.
That's why when I stumbled on an old gorgeous Baroque-style mirror from my mother-in-law, I KNEW I could transform it into something great that would fit the style of our new home! We needed a mirror in our entryway, and this mirror was the perfect size.
Like every good 21st Century woman, I scoured over pages and pages on Pinterest to determine how I would tackle this project. There were so many ideas and way this could be done, but I didn't want to sand it, strip the wood, prime it, and repaint. That seemed all too tedious for such an intricate mirror.
I read a few articles, did my research, and finally decided how I would take this gaudy gold, heavy wooden mirror from gaudy... to gorgeous!
It takes very little effort, and a lot of patience. But with just a few simple tools, this project will only take a few hours (and most of that time is waiting for paint to dry!)
TOOLS:
Painter's Tape
Old Newspapers
2-in-1 Primer and Paint Spray Paint
Fine Grain Sandpaper
1/4" Paint Brush
Straight-edged razor blade
The beauty of this project is that it's so simple to do. You'll want to paint outside because the fumes
are no bueno but the rest can be done indoors! Walking around Lowe's, I found there are a lot of choices when it comes to spray paints. Interior, exterior, satin, eggshell, glossy, acrylic, textured, etc.
I went simple.
I chose a very neutral color in a flat finish - I didn't want a glossy finish around a mirror. Be mindful of your project when choosing the right finish of your paint. Our house is painted in a very neutral grayscale, so choosing white seemed like the best color to stand out against the paint, but still look clean on the walls.
Paint preferences aside (although I love Valspar - great colors and awesome product!), choose your paint so it will adhere to the surface you are painting - metal, wood, glass, plastic, etc. Valspar paint and I get along when it comes to success rates, so I knew it would be the best for my project.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cover the glass of the mirror with newspaper and use painter's tape to seal around the edges. Try to
only get the tape on the glass, so there aren't bare spots when you take the tape off. Then shake, shake, shake your spray paint to mix it up. If it's not shaken up enough, your paint will look watery and blotchy. *yuck* Carefully paint your surface, getting into all the crooks and nannies. Spray each side at different angles to get full coverage on all sides. Spray paint is great for getting even paint coats, as long as you have patience. Let the first coat dry, then repeat until you get your desired look. I painted 3 coats to get full coverage. If you use a darker shade, it may only take 2 coats. Before each coat of paint, I let the frame dry for about an hour to make sure the paint was set. While the last coat is still wet, use your small paintbrush to get paint in all the small corners and around the adornment of your frame.
After you think the paint is all dry, carefully pull off the tape so you don't pull off any paint in the process. If any paint got onto the glass of the mirror, use a straight-edged razor blade to scrape the paint off. It comes off super easily! If you want a clean coat of paint, voila! you are finished!
I like the rustic chic look, so I took some fine-grain sandpaper and roughed up some of the paint a little. It worked out great, because a tiny bit of the gold started to pop out under the paint as I sanded it, giving it a very shabby-chic finish.
That's it! It really is simple, anyone could do this project, and experiment with colors and finishes to switch up the look of your final product :)
xoxo - k
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