Gaudy Mirror going Modern

         
     Okay, so I’m going to give you a little background first. I’ve done many projects in the past, but I wanted to start off this blog with a new project.  I’m putting it up in my house, and  want to start off slow.

            I picked up this mirror one weekend this summer by absolute luck. My friend moved and asked if I could help her take some stuff to the recycling center in my truck. Apparently the landlord didn’t quite clean out the whole house. In the garage there lay furniture! Unwanted Furniture!!!!! Free furniture and other items the landlord hadn’t dumped. Honestly, I can’t use another piece of furniture in my house, BUT I saw the mirror and had to take it. I had seen the same mirror in a little shop in town, it was on clearance for $150! I know I live in California, but really, that much, on clearance? It’s made of resin. Well free is always better.

            Now my style is a mixture. Let’s call it modern, vintage, Asian chic. Whew! Maybe I should just call it eclectic chic, ha-ha. My colors are browns, turquoise and red accents. Then I mix in creams/whites, black, gold and silver. That’s a lot right? I’m into breaking the rules (as long as the room flows). I’ve seen this trend start to peek out in magazines and shows a bit lately (TV show Home by Novogratz for example, but we will talk about show on another post).

            So how does this mirror fit into my style you say? Let me explain. The mirror is very ornate, gold and basically gaudy. I’m going to paint it in high gloss paint. No not black or white. Although it would go nice in my house, I want it to make a statement. I’m thinking Chinese Red. I thought of going over it with an antiquing glaze (just slight so it’s not so modern). Then maybe a little silver rub. Another alternative would have been antiqued silver. That would have been too much since a have a huge corner armoire that I’m turning into a bar and I want that in silver.

            So painting it in high gloss or even semi gloss modernizes an otherwise ornate classic piece. Antiquing it with a glaze tones down the brightness of the color, subduing it just enough. That’s not to say you can’t leave it like that and really make a statement.

             Well, in the end I decided that I wanted to leave it glossy red! I put it in my entry way. Now, my entryway is small and ceiling is low, but by breaking that rule (big pictures and mirrors should be on a big wall) it makes a statement. I love it. Although, there is a big wall in my living room that it could go on should this mirror pose a problem visually at some point for me (I have been known to move items all over the house because it bothered me visually. I look forward to your comments or questions. May you all be domestic geniuses.

This is the mirror when I brought it home.
It was dirty and needed a good cleaning.

I fell in love with the beautiful detail at the top.

You can really see the dust in the detail. It took a lot of time
and patience and a brush to clean it.

Okay, so here is the finished product. I think it came out pretty great considering the detail. It helped that I used a spray paint. It gets in the cracks and detail much better than a brush.

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Here it is in my entryway right above the table.
The light reflects off of the mirror and opens up that small space.
I think the table might have to be painted black.

There's that detail at the top. The glossy paint helps 
the light reflect, in turn you see more of the detail.

Spray paint really helped get into every crack and crevice 

Instructions

I used RUST-OLEUM  spray paint for Plastic in "Sunrise Red". Since the mirror is resin (a plastic like material) I thought it would work great. I got it at Home Depot but I'm sure you can find it at most home improvement stores or online. I masked the edges of the mirror with blue 1" painters tape and then covered the rest of the mirror in newspaper. Before starting make sure the piece is clean, and I used a wire brush to slightly etch the piece before painting it. Since it was resin I actually took the hose and CAREFULLY washed it. Try not to get the back part wet since most are backed with a type of press board. Another option would be to take it all apart (take backing  and mirror off). I myself wasn't up for that so I took care not to get everything wet.