New week, new post! It has been a minute since I have written anything on the blog but that is going to change. It has been a balancing act between my full-time job in healthcare and my PT passion of home decor. My PT passion has become somewhat FT after my FT ends, so hectic would be the word of the year...and I like it!
Anyhoo...enough about that. Back to the Monday makeover!
I have been redoing my master bedroom and knew that I wanted a beautiful mirror to place above my grandmother's chest. I have always coveted an antique Trumeau mirror but my checkbook always laughs at me when I think about it. I was on the verge of making one, and still have that on my to-do, but happened upon a Trumeau style mirror on Facebook Marketplace and knew instantly I could make it what I wanted it to be without lots of time invested and with my checkbook still smiling at me.
So I messaged the sweet seller and negotiated a price. Note: if something has been listed at least a week, make a reasonable offer. Most people are trying to get rid of their treasures fairly quickly. All they can say is no.
Now, the mirror was beautiful before I decided to DIY it but the black just didn't go well where I would ultimately place it. I wanted a little more depth in areas, more of an antique feel and a lighter, more French chateau hue.
Once I got her home, I taped the mirror and began to plot a plan. I knew I wanted a gray/blue color and had leftover paint from my bookshelves. I also knew I wanted gilded edges, with an aged look, so gold leaf was a must. It was important that it also had an all over antique feel so I need to age the piece.
Over the years, I saved many inspirational pictures and began to decide what was feasible and within realistic goals. Here were a few of my inspiration pics for the project at hand...
Pics from L to R: Eloquence, 1st Dibs, Edith & Evelyn
Here are the supplies I used:
Benjamin Moore Eggshell in Simply White
2" mid-quality paint brush
Small artist paint brushes
Lint free white rag
Water
Painter's tape
Step 1: Tape off the mirror so you do not accidentally paint. (The good news is, depending on the paint, if you do make a mistake and get paint on the mirror it usually comes off easily with water or Windex)
Step 2: I left the original gold, to begin with, on the corners and at the top of the mirror.
Step 3: I mixed the Smoke and Simply White (1:1) to make a more muted blue/gray and painted that on the top leaf areas, one row above the coat of arms crest, inside the coat of arms square (backing only), black columns and initially on the bottom detailing.
Step 4: I thought at this point I was ready for antiquing it all. Well...I did it and I didn't try a patch test first. I mixed 2 part acrylic paint to 3 parts water and ended up being way to dark. That is when the handy dandy rag and plain water came to the rescue.
Step 5: I dipped my rag in plain water and started rubbing away some of the acrylic. Luckily, even after is dries, it can still be manipulated. I left the edges and muted the rest. I also repeated Step 4 in some areas where I wanted a darker look and wiped over it again.
Step 6: Hello Liquid Gold! I took one of my smaller brushes and started brightening the gold areas. Ultimately I wanted an aged gold but still wanted bits of the brighter look shining through.
Step 7: I took the antiquing mix and went over all of the gold and immediately wiped most off for a slight aging effect. Perfect!
Step 8: It was close but it wasn't exactly what I wanted and I just couldn't figure it out where I went wrong. After I let it sit for a couple of days and stared at it a dozen times each of those days I figured it out...not enough gold! So I went back in on the side leaf areas and added a little gold leaf on top of the smoke, white, antique layers. Satisfied that I found the missing link, a gave it one more antique layer and wiped off with a cloth.
Step 9: After curing for 24 hours, I finished the mirror with a clear non-yellowing wax. I prefer this to lacquer or stain because there are no fumes and I wanted a more matte finish except for the gilding.
Step 10: Had a cocktail and thanked the heavens I was finished!
It took a little trial and error, and hopefully I have explained those thoroughly enough, but I am so happy with the finished product. I do want to make my own Trumeau for another part of the house and I will forever be looking for a true antique that won't break the bank.
The master is an ongoing project but I am one step closer. Next project...a faux fireplace mantle and I am super excited about that one. I will post the finished product in a couple of weeks!
Happy Monday! What's next on your DIY list? XO Jennifer
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