Create a Chic and Stylish Wall Mirror in Six Simple Steps

Tresha Armstrong
by Tresha Armstrong
2 Materials
$15
2 Hours
Easy

Stylish statement pieces can make a big difference to the overall look and feel of a room, enhancing and energizing the space around them. Having the ability to uplift your entire aesthetic, they are features that can be added into your interior over time, to gradually transform its style until it’s more in line with your unique personality and tastes.

However, the downside to buying gorgeous pieces to furnish your home and make it look fabulous is that they often come with a pretty hefty price tag attached. While this obviously reflects the time and expense that went into making them, it naturally leads to one particular question: can you get your hands on these on-trend accessories any cheaper?

While there are always going to be online outlets which offer similar items for a more attractive price, most of these are poor-quality pieces that are shipped from overseas and don’t have the durability or robustness to last, which counts them out as contenders.

This means you have one option left: to have a go at making your dream home accessories by applying your own DIY skills, and an easy project to get you started is this chic and stylish decorative wall mirror.

Just what you need to add a touch of class to even the most unassuming of surroundings, I’ve created this simple tutorial to help you put it together.


DIY Sunburst Mirror

Tools and Materials

Before you can begin making your wall mirror, you’ll need a few essentials to hand. These include:

  • A mirror
  • Silver plastic napkin rings
  • Glue gun and glue sticks
  • Metallic acrylic paints (I used Arteza and I loved them!)
  • Sponge brushes
  • Black spray paint.

Combined, you should be able to get all of these items for less than $15!

Gather Your Materials
Gather Your Materials


As I mentioned above, you’ll need a few tools and materials ready before you can get started on making your very own luxurious large wall mirror, and the best place to begin is with a trip to your nearest Dollar Tree. Here, you’ll be able to find some of the most important items on your list, including the mirror itself, silver plastic napkin rings, and sponge brushes.  

Once you have what you need from Dollar Tree, take a trip to your local hardware store or Home Depot, where you should be able to find the rest of what you require. Anything that you can’t find in-store or which seems expensive should be able to be sourced online.

I’ve actually linked to a few sellers in my YouTube video description, so take a look there if you need to be pointed in the right direction.  

Remove the Mirror from the Frame
Remove the Mirror from the Frame


Once you’ve got everything you require together, the next step is simple: take your Dollar Tree purchase and remove the back of it. This is super easy to do, and you won’t need any tools to help you. Instead, try to get a firm grip on the small hanging hook behind, and use this to pry the mirror and its back away from the frame. When it’s been separated, place this to one side as you’ll need these pieces later. 

Attach the Napkin Rings
Attach the Napkin Rings


With your mirror and frame now two separate entities, it’s time to open the silver plastic napkin rings that you picked up from Dollar Tree. You’re going to place these along the outside edge of the frame (as demonstrated in the video) until the entire circumference has been surrounded. 

One issue you might have is that your napkin rings will keep rolling away. Positioning them on a completely flat surface will help, but if you’re finding it too tricky, a spare pair of hands can also be useful! You should make sure you’re entirely happy with your positioning before you move onto the next step.

That step is to take your Gorilla glue gun and sticks and allow these to heat up. Once they’re warm enough, place a blob or two of glue beneath each of your napkin rings and then press down firmly, making sure they’re properly secured before moving onto the next one. Continue on with this process until all of the napkin rings are attached.   

When you’re happy with how this first row looks, it’s time to start creating a second circle. You’ll want to attach each new napkin ring to two of the rings that are already in place, so place a blob of glue on the edge of each and then press down to secure (you can see an example of this positioning in my YouTube video). 

Repeat this process over again for the third and fourth rows, until you have a structure that resembles the Pinterest picture that inspired this project. If you want to be a little less ambitious, you can stick to two or three rows, or if you prefer a statement look, you can add more napkin rings – it’s entirely up to you! Essentially, I’d recommend just carrying on until you’re happy with how your outline appears. 

When you’re finished, it’s a good idea to go back over the napkin rings, reapplying glue to any spots that don’t seem entirely secure. 

If you want to get rid of any glue strings that are left once you’re done, you can use a heat gun to do this – it works like a charm! 

Once you’re finished, leave the glue to dry for around 10 minutes before moving onto the next step.  

Spray Paint
Spray Paint


The next step in making this round wall mirror is to break out the spray paint. I opted to use Rust-oleum All Surface Paint and Primer, but any similar brand should work equally well. Luckily, I had this lying around the house from a previous project, so I didn’t have to shell out any extra money.

I chose (wisely it turned out) to do this part of the process outside, in order to avoid any mess indoors, and I’d recommend that you do the same. While I personally used black paint, feel free to experiment with other colors if you’d prefer, or even to stick with the silver.     

One option I’d quite like to experiment with at some point is pastel hues, as well as gold to give industrial-style spaces a slightly more upmarket vibe.

The color you choose to use could be almost anything, so don’t be afraid to try out any ideas that pop into your head. So long as they suit the overall look and feel of your room, it should work just fine! 

Paint
Paint


Now here’s the interesting part – you’ve already added some spray paint, and while it’s fine to stick with this, you’re not necessarily done yet. If you want to go for a more metallic appearance, you’ll need to break out your acrylic paints from Arteza. 

The reason I spray painted first was because it makes it much easier to get into the nooks and crannies. Because I wanted the inside of my napkin rings to be dark and dramatic, this worked well, but for the rest of the mirror frame, I chose to opt for a different kind of look. 

While I could have used spray paint in the first place, I wanted a slightly more precise finish, so I chose to combine two colors from Arteza instead: A129 Pearl Copper and A203 Pearl Marmalade. I mixed these together on a piece of tinfoil before applying with a sponge brush. The result was the most gorgeous metallic shade – almost like a rose gold – and looked amazing once dry.   

Insert the Mirror
Insert the Mirror


Now onto the final step! Once I was done painting the front, I flipped the frame over and inserted the mirror, before repeating step five to make sure the back was the same shade. 

When the frame was finally dry, I had two options: to either balance the mirror on a shelf or mantelpiece or mount it on a wall. I opted for the former and found that it made the most gorgeous statement accessory. While it’s entirely up to you to decide where it will look best in your home, do make sure to place it somewhere where you can really show it off!

DIY Decorative Mirror

Costing less than $15 to make, this gorgeous and stylish wall mirror is the perfect statement accessory for interiors in need of an uplift. Be sure to comment below and include some pictures if you decide to give it a go yourself. I can’t wait to see how you add your own exciting twist! 

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2 of 9 comments
  • Dl.5660408 Dl.5660408 on Apr 29, 2021

    Wow, it looks sooo expensive! Kudos for your creativity 💕

  • Leslie Leslie on May 02, 2021

    This came out lovely, thank you for sharing. I was thinking that cutting cardboard tubes or even a PVC pipe would work too.

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