Antique Style Mirror Turned Faux Fireplace Mantle

This is the picture from the Marketplace ad. I really liked the antique feel of the frame. It needed a good cleaning; but was in great condition.

before painting, it's important to clean your piece first. I just use a mixture of water and vinegar to do this.

Before painting, I removed the mirror. This was easy to do since it was being held in with screws.

I just unscrewed all the screws, took the back plywood piece off, and removed the mirror.

I kept the screws since I planned to attach the plywood piece back at the end.

After removing the mirror, I was left with just the frame. This will be used as my fireplace.

once I started working on the frame, I realized the decorative pieces, on the top panel of the frame, were cheap and made of cardboard. I decided to remove them.

This was a bit of a challenge; but using the right tools helps! I just used a pair of needle point pliers, and started ripping it off. This wasn't an easy task; and required some muscle. Lol

once I removed the decorative pieces, I was left with some glue residue. I had this chisel and started scraping as much away as I could. I wasn't able to get it completely off; even sanding didn't achieve a flat surface. I wasn't to worried about that since I was going for a worn, antique look anyway.

If you are going for a chippy look, Vaseline works great! I used a q-tip, and dabbed Vaseline in areas I wanted a chippy finish. You can easily paint over it too! Once your paint dries, all you have to do is lightly sand over it, and the paint will chip right off.

I always use chalk paint for my projects. It requires little prep work; and has a nice matte finish. I painted the frame using House and Canvas chalk paint, in Angora. I absolutely love their paint! It has a great consistency. I used a round bristle chalk paint brush to apply the paint.

after the paint dried on the frame, I used a 220 grit sandpaper; and lightly sanded over the areas I applied Vaseline. Your paint should come off easily, where Vaseline was placed.

After I completed the sanding required to achieve the chippy look, I was left with a pretty good faux chippy appearance.

After I was done painting and chipping my paint, I sealed it with furniture wax. I used the House and Canvas wax in the color walnut. I absolutely love this wax. It applies smoothly and the tint is perfect for that vintage hue. I also used the House and Canvas waxing brush for this project.

Once the frame was waxed, it had the perfect vintage color to it! I wanted it to look worn; and the wax did the trick!

I used an old shelf as the mantle for this project. I found this shelf in the garage; and it was the perfect fit! My husband just knocked the shelf supports off with a hammer.

Though the shelf was painted white; I repainted it using the same products I did on the frame to include the vaseline.) This gave it the same finished look.

I used wood glue to attach the mantle piece. I didn't want to make an attempt at nailing these pieces on the frame and risk breaking it.

I have used this wood glue for many projects; and so far it has held up really well.

I used the wood glue to attach the mantle to the frame. I ran a strip of glue along the back of the mantle piece, and placed it on the frame where I wanted it. I then clamped the mantle to the frame while it dried.

I just so happened to have this roll of paintable wallpaper lying around. I used a small portion of it for a project a couple yrs ago, and kept the rest. I think I bought this at Lowes. I loved the pattern; and knew it would be perfect for this project.

I wanted to have a backing in my fireplace; and figured the easiest thing was to use the original plywood, which held the mirror in. It already had the screw holes and was the perfect fit.

In order to get an exact cut, I lay the wallpaper on the plywood, and cut the paper to fit. I had to use two sheets of wallpaper. I made sure to line the pattern up before gluing.

I used tacky glue to glue the wallpaper to the plywood backing. I started by gluing one sheet down at a time. I basically just lined the glue on all four edges of the paper, and carefully pressed the paper to the board.

After I applied the first sheet of the paper, I applied the second piece. I found it easier to do it separately. This helped me line the patterns up easily.

Originally I had plans to keep the background lighter, like this picture; but decided to go with a darker tin like appearance.

In order to achieve the final look I created, I used tinted furniture wax. The first layer, as seen above, was achieved using the House and Canvas walnut wax. I then added a black wax I had on hand (Annie Sloan wax, in black.) The black wax created a pretty good tin like appearance, mixed with the walnut wax.

I wanted to box the inside of the frame in, to create a smaller backdrop. I did this by using a fence picket board, from Lowes.

I needed three boards cut, one for the top and both sides. This created a nice inside frame.

My husband bought three fence boards, and ended up cutting a piece from each picket, based on our measurements. He used a table saw to do this.

Once the boards were cut, I sanded each board, using my hand sander. These particular boards were not smooth and treated, so sanding was necessary.

once the boards were sanded down, I stained them in minwax, dark walnut stain. I did this so the stain would show through, after I chipped the boards (for that aged look. )

I used the same paint and aging techniques on the boards, as I did with the frame. Once the boards were ready to be attached, I used wood glue to do so.

Like the mantle, I applied glue to the sides of the boards that would be attached to the frame. I put the top board in first, and sides after. By doing so, I was able to glue the top of the side pieces to the bottom of the top piece.

Once glued and in place, I clamped the two sides. After a couple hours, I removed the clamps. It was secure enough to bring inside.

I will be applying a bracket in the back of my frame to attach to the wall. You can do the same, or maybe attach a board to the bottom as a stand. I didn't really want to go that route.

I am really happy with how this project turned out. It has a nice worn vintage look. Just what I was going for!