How to Make an Old Mirror Farmhouse Chic

by ForRent.com

2 Materials

$15

30 Minutes

Easy

Give that yard sale find a fresh new makeover. Here’s how to give an old mirror a whole new look fit for your decor style.

how to make an old mirror farmhouse chic

Just because you can only afford second-hand furnishings does not mean your home cannot express your personal style. There are many ways you can give new life to thrifted or hand-me-down pieces so your home is a reflection of you. Spend an hour or two painting a basic wood-framed mirror to give it a fresh new look.

First, you will need to run a line of painter’s tape where the glass of the mirror meets the frame. This is to protect the glass from paint mess. If you do accidentally get paint on the glass, do not panic — there’s a fix for that!

Purchase your choice of chalk finish paint, 2 ounce bottles will work perfectly. Choose two to three light colors close to each other in shade, including a pure white. Apply the pure white chalky-finish paint with a standard paintbrush. Once dried, add a second coat in a second chalky-finish paint color. You do not have to be too precise with the application since the paint finish will be distressed anyway.

For wet distressing techniques, you have a 60-minute window of time in which it will work properly. Apply one coat of paint and let it dry for half an hour. After the half-hour has passed, take a clean, damp cloth and rub it over the surface of the paint. The cloth will remove some of the paint wherever you rub it. Once the paint dries and cures, it becomes almost impossible to remove with just a wet cloth.

You can see how well this technique works with just a damp cloth and a little elbow grease! After you have distressed the second layer of paint, you will want to rinse out your cloth so it is ready to use again.

Apply and distress a third layer of paint in your third chosen color. After the final coat of paint has dried, you can peel off the painter’s tape. If any paint got onto the glass of the mirror, use a razor blade to carefully scrape the paint off the glass surface. Finally, use glass cleaner or rubbing alcohol to thoroughly clean the surface of the glass.

The mirror has such a pretty, weathered finish now. By keeping the three paints so close to each other in color, the mirror frame looks like paint that has naturally aged over time.