Plain Jane Wall Mirror Makeover

My island bathroom makeover is in its final lap of completion! I'm currently painting some artwork to coordinate with the tropical theme, so be on the lookout for a super before and after post soon. In the meantime, I'd like to share the most extensive part of the makeover: revamping a ho-hum, cheapo wall mirror. You can buy these mirrors in any department store or could even score one in a thrift store for less money.

Check out what cooking utensils I repurposed for this makeover after the jump!

When I created my bathroom makeover mood board, I was inspired by this fabulous mirror. The bamboo frame is perfect for the natural vibe of my makeover, and the inner border adds more interest and detail to the piece.

 

Did you guess bamboo skewers as the cooking utensils I repurposed? 🙂 I’ve used these in the past with a few other projects, so I figured they’d work well for recreating the look above. Bamboo skewers are great for DIY projects because of their price ($1 for 100!) and their durability. Plus, I love using bamboo to help create a natural vibe to a space.

This isn’t a process that needs a tutorial, since I just used hot glue to attach the bamboo to the mirror and plastic frame. It is a looong process though— and that is partly because my mirror was already attached to the wall. This meant awkward positioning of myself, using a stepstool, and contorting around the toilet (ick). So make sure you do this process before hanging on the wall!

You do want to calculate how many skewers you will need and the length you will cut them to. I roughly estimated this by measuring the length and width of the mirror and considering the length of the skewers once I cut of the pointed end. I also kept my snips nearby to trim skewers to size when necessary.

TIP: if you are creating the inset as I did on the actual glass: use a ruler and dry-erase marker to mark where your sticks will be glued. This will help ensure straightness and that they are spaced evenly.

Another timely aspect of this project was clean-up. In some spots (OK, a lot of spots), I used too much glue. This left excess glue stuck on the mirror. I used many cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol to remove the glue, but also had to remove some with an Exacto knife. Once the touching up was completed, I sealed the bamboo with polycrylic for added water resistance.

Final grade on this DIY project? C— because of all the time it took to get it just right. However, this project could easily be upgraded to a B if the mirror/frame is smaller, not mounted to the wall, and another glue is used.

Have you ever given a plain Jane mirror a makeover? What did you use? If you’ve blogged about your makeover, share your link in the comments!

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