Antique Mirror Turned Into Shabby Chic Frame

Amy Farrell
by Amy Farrell
3 Materials
$20
2 Hours
Easy

Hi guys! I found this really old and super heavy mirror in an abandoned storage unit we own. It was so heavy I was scared to hang it and the wood was so dark it really looked dated. I popped out the mirror and gave it a fresh new look! You can style this frame so many different ways now.

As I said before I found this mirror in an abandoned storage unit so it was absolutely FREE! Yay! But it was super heavy and the dark walnut stain really dated it and hid all of the gorgeous detail.

I started off by carefully removing the old mirror. Then I used 240 grit sandpaper and sanded by hand the top detailed part. Because this wood is walnut I knew it would take awhile to get the lighter wood look i was going for so I got out my hand held sander with 100 grit paper and sanded mire. I wanted to keep some of the darker color so I varied between the 240 and 100 grit paper. And, because I knew I was going to paint the frame i kept my sanding mostly to the detailing at top and the corners of the frame. Once I was done sanding I wiped it down thoroughly.

I painted the whole frame with white chalk paint using a chalk paint/wax brush so I could get inside the grooves of the detailing. Once the paint was dry I went back over the frame and hand sanded the white off where I wanted the wood to show through. You can see the different wood tones showing through to add dimension.

Here are the materials I used to achieve this look. Along with 100 and 240 grit sandpaper. You really could use any paint you have on hand it doesn’t have to be chalk paint. I just wanted the matte chalky finish for this particular frame but any type will work.

Here is the new updated look of this once old mirror turned into a fun shabby chic frame. This could be decorated so many different ways. I have it displayed when you walk inside my back door.

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  • Dana Dana on Mar 29, 2019

    what do you think that the mirror and the frame was worth before you changed it since it was an antique it is very beautiful both ways

  • Delilah Delilah on Feb 08, 2021

    Love it!!! I would definitely antique the mirror as well!!

  • Christy Lynn Leblanc Christy Lynn Leblanc on Feb 25, 2021

    HI! I have a frame just like that. Its just sitting in my garage lol. I will definitely give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration. Just beautiful!

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