I was shopping at one of our local thrift stores recently and I came across this great mirror. The best part was that it was only $1.50! At the time I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but it was a a nice heavy mirror and it didn’t have any breaks or scratches. It was just the wooden frame that had seen better days.
After sitting in my garage for a while I decided to tackle refinishing this mirror. I considered just stripping down the wood and restraining it, but I wanted something that stood out a little more. Then I got the idea to use some slate tiles at Lowes and give this old mirror a whole new look. The best part is that this entire transformation cost less than $7!
One evening while shopping at Lowes I found some of those 12×12 sheets of mosaic tile that is used to create back-splashes. Each tile was 2×2 so I measured the perimeter of the mirror and calculated how many tiles I would need to complete the frame. It turns out that I would have needed two sheets. There weren’t that many sheets at Lowes and there were only two that had enough variety and colors that I liked. The only problem was that one of these sheets had a broken tile. Fortunately, when I went to the counter I asked if it could be discounted because it was damaged. The cashier reduced the price from $8 to $4!
It is really easy to remove the tiles from the mesh backing that they are on. You can just pull and peel the tiles from the backing. You may have some extra pieces of the backing that hang over the edges of the tiles, but you can use a utility knife to remove any excess.
After I removed the tiles from the backing and trimmed any excess, I laid out the tiles on the mirror frame. This will help for you visualize how the colors will look together and if they aren’t fitting right it will give you the chance to reposition them.
I used Gorilla Glue to attach the tiles to the wood mirror frame. Be careful not to use too much Gorilla Glue because as it dries it expands and it could easily drip down the sides of the frame. This is a mistake that I made.
After the tiles have all been attached to the frame you will need to let it dry for at least 24 hours. I actually let it set for 48 hours just to be sure.
After the tiles had all dried I attached a picture wire and hook to the back so that I could hang it in my hallway. I have to say that it looks great and brings some character to my otherwise pretty dull entryway!
