Quick! I need your help!

Help! I cannot decide what to do about this mirror! I just painted the empire chest below it, and now the mirror sticks out like a sore thumb. To me, it looks too modern for the chest, especially once I distress the chest. Please offer me some suggestions! I thought about painting the mirror turquoise since I have some Annie Sloan Provence left. Or I could paint it white and distress it. Decisions, decisions! Thanks for your help
  30 answers
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 24, 2012
    Or simply move that beauty somewhere else in the house and accessorize with more "vintage" items with the dresser....that mirror is a beauty and getting paint off of it later would be nearly impossible...it looks very Art Nouvaeu....perhaps you could decoupage an Art Nouvaeu design across the front of the dresser to tie them together?
  • Thistlewood Thistlewood on Oct 24, 2012
    What about dry brushing it with a color you already have in the room? That way....the mirror will not be such a bold color against all that white!
  • Leslie D Leslie D on Oct 24, 2012
    I think the turquoise would be beautiful on it. I see some turquoise in a painting in the reflection, so that would tie in well. Then, perhaps, take some brown stain and apply a coat over the paint, wiping off the excess. The stain would settle in the crevices and instantly age it to tie in with your empire chest.
  • Gilded Manor Gilded Manor on Oct 24, 2012
    I like it dark. I think you need to incorporate some accessories on top of the chest that will tie in with the rest of the room. A small lamp might help to warm it up and soften the look a bit. Ideas for accessories...mercury glass, turquoise object, something from nature, ie.ea branch or nest....if I could see the rest of the room I could suggest more.
  • Hudson Designs Hudson Designs on Oct 24, 2012
    Use a crackle finish in white. This will give it a distress look and help blend the two.
  • Terry Salach Terry Salach on Oct 24, 2012
    Thistlewood... What is "dry brushing"?
  • Lura Lumsden Lura Lumsden on Oct 24, 2012
    You could either move it to another part of the house and find another vintage mirror or you can paint it a lighter color or lilke Thistlewood said dry brushing will tone down the color quite a bit.
  • Y'all are coming up with such good ideas! I might have to use a combination of your suggestions. I can't part with the mirror just yet!
  • Trent-Tonya Sharp Trent-Tonya Sharp on Oct 24, 2012
    dry brush it with either gold or siver if not your choice of color to bring out that just littler bit of color you want then paint or buy some frames with the color you choose to dry brush the mirror with and it will bring it out for sure :) go check out my wall i need help with plz i am i need of a little help myself... pretty mirror
  • Leslie D Leslie D on Oct 25, 2012
    @Terry Salach Dry brushing is a technique where you dip your brush in the paint, wipe almost all of the paint off, leaving the brush almost "dry", then painting on the surface. It creates a very faint, rustic effect and still allows the color underneath to show.
  • Terry Salach Terry Salach on Oct 25, 2012
    Leslie D... Thank you so much for the info. A few years ago I painted the frame of a Mirror a Red color and then took a rag and wiped it down with a Black to achieve the desired affect. Will Dry Brushing give it a different look?
  • Leslie D Leslie D on Oct 25, 2012
    It will give a little different effect. The brush strokes will show a little and you have a bit more control over where to place the color, making the piece appear to have worn paint.
  • I have to vote for the turquoise color with some dark wax or stain to "age" it. Then you could add a touch of gold or silver Rub 'n Buff in places. You'll have to post a picture when you finish with it so we can see what you did!
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 25, 2012
    Sorry, I just Love that Mirror as is and know it would be impossible to restore if it's ever painted...how about using it in another part of the house and adding some other things to go with the vintage feel of the dresser...
  • Hi Tricia, I have had this happen often. Here is a trick. The problem is that by painting and distressing the chest the mirror now looks too crisp and modern by comparison. So, buy a pair of something like vases in the dark finish of the mirror, then fill them with sticks painted in the colour of the dresser. By layering the combination of finishes a few places the items will start to relate to each other. Everyone will think you are brilliant.
  • Designs by BSB Designs by BSB on Oct 25, 2012
    I say.. nothing is wrong with the color of the mirror. IF you find some decorations for the top of the dresser to balance out the contrasting color. I appreciate the mix of old and new ... or old and modern
  • Victoria Victoria on Oct 25, 2012
    You could just accessorize the piece below using at least two more pieces in the color of the mirror. Mix in some other treasured items and it will pop, It is like using jewelry, it's in the details.
  • Sharon E. Hines Sharon E. Hines on Oct 26, 2012
    I like the mix of mod with vintage. And I LOVE the contrast of dark with light. I agree that adding accessories will finish the look perfectly.
  • I wish I could see more of the room.. I would have to have the vote of turquoise as well... if you have other punches of that color throughout the room. Provence is beautiful with dark wax in the grooves of the mirror as well.
  • Since some of you have asked about the rest of room, I've added some more pictures. These pictures are from a couple of years ago, so some things have changed. The table under the window has been replaced with woven storage cube baskets until I can build a console table and the empire chest is white with just a little bit of gray. I'll be replacing the coffee table with something bigger and rectangular

  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 26, 2012
    @Tricia @ Simplicity In The South Ok I'm liking two of the accessories you have on the top bookcase shelf to go on the dresser....The White circle on a stand....and the White Pierced Vase would bring your white up and soften the darkness of the mirror, plus mimic the circular shape... do you still have the candle stick lamps that used to sit on top? If so I think I'd paint them powder grey and maybe print some vintage pictures to decoupage on the shades.... If that doesn't work for you then I'd trade positions with the turquoise picture and the mirror and hang the picture Horizonally over the chest. Proportionally it looks like that would be a nice fit, and you could always "dry brush" the picture frame if you felt you HAD to, but honestly, it's a slimmer profile and I don't think you would because the frame isn't making the same "heavy wood" statement that the mirror does...That Mirror is just gorgeous and I really think you can make that work...
  • Update: I lived with the mirror for a few days as-is. Since I knew that I could always spray paint it back to it's original color if I didn't like it, I decided to paint it a lighter color. I ended up using a combination of all of your suggestions so y'all were a big help! I have a new post here on Hometalk today if you'd like to see how it turned out. Hope you had a great Halloween!
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Nov 01, 2012
    Well it looks great!
  • Leslie D Leslie D on Nov 01, 2012
    I like it! Looks great in white!
  • Denise Weick Denise Weick on Apr 20, 2013
    turquoise with silver leaf added to add grace & up scale feel I love what I see. You have a great sense of style.
  • Vickie Miles Vickie Miles on Jan 23, 2015
    I know this may sound weird, but I would paint it gray, let it dry, then dry brush the turquoise around each (circle) pattern, combining the two colors. I noticed you have touches of gray with your chair pillows, and the painting looks to have touches of gray also. Good luck! Its a beautiful mirror no matter what you do with it!
  • Rose Rose on Mar 19, 2015
    I would paint it the same color as the chest and bring in color with accessories .i have a mirror similar to yours and I painted it a cream white and it looks great.
  • Miriam Miriam on Mar 20, 2015
    How about a speckled look by dripping the same color used on the chest (and maybe some of that turquoise) over the wood so that some of the wood still shows through.
  • Diana Deiley Diana Deiley on Feb 24, 2016
    Paint it flat white and distress it giving it a chic look. You can add a pop of color with a candle on the cabinet.
  • Jcraw Jcraw on Aug 01, 2018

    I’d raise it to be level with the top of the door and the bottom of your shade.

    Its almost touching your Empire chest, which diminishes both pieces.