How to Make an Antique Mirror

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It’s time again for another monthly rendition of the DIY At Home Blog Challenge with the theme this month being: $20 DIY Decor. This month’s challenge was just as it sounds: a challenge! To create a DIY decor project with only $20 in materials is harder than you may think. I had several ideas come to mind but then realized that the tools and supplies would cost more than $20 and I wanted to create a project that anyone could do for $20 and that didn’t require having a crafting or power tool stash already. Around this same time, I started thinking about my Fall decor and realized I had been wanting to use antique mirrors on the mantle for quite some time but could never find any that  I liked and that were in my budget. Antique or vintage mirrors can be quite expensive so I decided I needed to figure out a tutorial for how to make an antique mirror!

This project hits all the checkmarks in my book: affordable, easy and something anyone who can use a can of spray paint can accomplish!

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I happen to have a stash of thrifted items and things I have been given by family just waited for updates so I searched through my stash and found a frame that I thought would work perfectly for this. Any type of frame will do, even if you have one that you no longer love, this project would be perfect! The frame I used was real wood but you could even use a plastic type frame as well for this.

The first step will be to remove the glass and cardboard backing from the frame, I decided to keep the cardboard backing even though I will no longer be able to use it as a frame as it will help keep the glass in place.

I used glass cleaner (this one is my hands down favorite) and a Clorox wipe to give the frame itself a good cleaning before using the spray paint. This will remove any dirt or debris and make it so your spray paint will adhere well to the surface.

I chose to use copper as my frame color but I think a vintage gold would look just as good. You could even play around with different types of colors for different seasons or looks.

The glass ended up needing 3 coats of the mirror effect spray paint to get it to the look I desired. And the frame took 2 coats of the copper.

TIP: The side of the glass that you sprayed will be cloudy and has a matte finish, if you turn your glass over it will more shiny and “mirror like” and your reflection will be much clearer.

I can’t wait to go to the thrift store and find some other frames to do this technique with, I think I will end up making some out gold as well to go with other decor throughout the year.

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