Hello, dear friends! I’m back with a quickie redo today! I’m sharing a $5 yard sale mirror set makeover.

Let’s get started!

This set of two mirrors was a steal for only $5 each at a yard sale last summer:

They are a bit on the short side compared to most mirrors I come across. I was thinking that they may have come with a long dresser? I know long dressers with two mirrors was popular in the 70’s, but these seem much more recent than that.

Either way, I grabbed them up right away!

Here’s closer look at the unbelievable price:

Yes, please!!

Remove the Mirrors

The first thing I do when painting mirrors is remove the actual mirror from the frame. These were quite heavy and this just makes it much easier to work on the frame.

This one was held in place with screws, which is much better than how they are usually held in place:

Once I had the backing off, you can see that the mirror was being further secured with glue. Luckily, it was only a small portion like this on either side:

Sometimes, if an entire mirror is held in place this way, I won’t remove the mirror. Instead, I’ll just tape it off for painting, however, this little bit was easy to remove by scoring it with a razor blade…

I then removed the mirrors and set them aside for safekeeping.

Clean

Next, I gave the frames a good cleaning with White lightning. It comes in both a pre-mixed spray and a concentrated form which is what I like to use since I prefer to mix a fresh batch for each project. I added one TBSP to a half gallon of warm water, gave it a good stir, and got to work …

Oh and did I mention that I got to use my BRAND NEW garage sink for the first time??

(See what all the excitement is about if you missed my big garage and workspace purge HERE.)

Still waiting on proper drainage though 🤣

Paint

I had no idea where I wanted to go with this set of mirrors, so I started where I often do when I’m unsure…with a coat of paint!

This is Dixie Belle’s Cotton:

Often times starting with a coat of neutral paint will lead to more ideas of where to go next, but with the pretty detail at the top of this one, I really liked the simple white finish.

It took three coats in all for solid coverage.

I was sure to flip it over and paint this groove all the way around also since that would be reflected in the mirror:

Another good reason to remove the mirror from the frame.

Sand

Once the paint was good and dry, I sanded all over to smooth and distress to enhance the details…

How pretty is that detail on top?

At this point, I struggled a bit with whether to add something to that solid raised area in the center.

• Do I add stripes that I love so much?
• How about adding some of this transfer (that is sadly no longer available)

Maybe this piece?

• Do I add a decorative resin piece? I tried that too and it fought with the detail at the top.

In the end, I decided to leave it as is.

Seal

I sealed it the easy way, using Rustoleum clear satin spray:

While I wouldn’t seal furniture this way, it’s fine for smaller sized surfaces like frames, lamps, etc.

All that was left to do was reassemble the mirrors, and this makeover was complete!

$5 Yard Sale Mirror Set Makeover Reveal

Here is how they, or at least one of them, turned out:

Sweet and simple!

What do you think?

Should I add something to that open space?

If I leave it blank, it will be easier to blend with existing decor, and these mirrors already have such pretty detail!

 

I love how chunky the frame is and you can’t beat a beveled mirror!

And here they both are, done to match:

Perhaps they could be used like I have on either side of our bed:

See more of our main bedroom and painted bedroom set makeover HERE.

Those mirrors for sure came from a 60’s or 70’s dresser!

And one more look at the pretty detail on top:

 

And that’s one more block I get to cross off the list!!

While Thursday’s vintage gentleman’s chest was a pretty special makeover, sometimes I enjoy the simple ones too!

I’ll be back on Thursday sharing the dolls I used to make and sell about 25 years ago! Not the actual dolls, but very bad flash photography of them lol. It will truly be a step back in time!

UPDATE! No need to wait…jump in my time machine and follow me back to the late 90’s, early 2000’s HERE!

See ya then!

XOXO,

 

 

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