A More or Less Free Mirror for the Foyer

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We’re still kind of finding our groove with getting projects done now that Dave is back at work, so I just have a tiny one for you today. But free! Or, well, upcycled? That’s what you say, right? I did not leave my house for any of the materials used in this project, is what I’m getting at.

Background: after I Sharpied squirrels all over my foyer, I hung up some thrift store pictures I had, but I was never really happy with them:

Those are Joan Walsh Anglund prints that remind me of my childhood, but still don’t look good with silver squirrels, no matter how much nostalgia they evoke (I used to draw mouths on all the people in my Joan Walsh Anglund books with crayon when I was a kid. Because Joan Walsh Anglund doesn’t believe in mouths, and apparently I thought this was a little creepy. And maybe I still do. No mouths?! Why?! The stuff of horror movies.)

I wanted a mirror there. And at one point I bought one that I was going to paint and hang up there, only I wound up hanging it up in my bedroom, over The Most Beautiful Chair in the World Instead:

But! Back when we redid Ari’s desk, we saved the mirror that we took off it and stuffed it in our laundry room closet:

So, when I was looking for a quick, cheap project the other day, I whipped the mirror back out to make over for the foyer.

First I leaned it up against the foyer dresser so Abe could look at himself in it:

Then I took off those little knob things that used to connect it to the desk (although they’re sort of cool; I like the shape. I wish I could think of something to do with them. To make my upcycling even more complete!)

Then I taped up the glass while Abe played with my frog tape:

A coat of primer:

For some reason, I decided that the perfect place for this project was right in the middle of the kitchen floor, blocking the doorway to the dining room.

I’m all about finding places to use up paint samples, so I whipped out the Gray Owl that we rejected for the kitchen (and seeing how very close to white it looks on the mirror very much reassured me that we’d made the right choice. It would not have worked in the kitchen at all, I don’t think).

A coat of Gray Owl:

…and then I put a layer of finishing wax on it (also already in my house!)

It didn’t have a hanger on the back, of course, since it had been attached to the desk, so Dave broke out our seemingly bottomless picture hanging kit (seriously; we’ve had that thing for a decade now, I think, and it’s never run low), and strung a wire across the back:

And then we hung it up!

It makes the foyer look very bright. Of course, the foyer IS very bright.

I got so into taking the pictures that I had to open the front door and go outside to take some so that I could get the whole dreser in there. The resulting pictures really make it clear how much we need to paint that hallway back there. And also I think the foyer needs a rug.

Linking with:
Give Me the Goods Monday
Tuesday’s Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z

Comments

A More or Less Free Mirror for the Foyer — 24 Comments

  4. That’s exactly the mirror that the foyer needed, I think. It looks so good and I love your vignette in front of it.

    I also have to say that the most beautiful chair in the world is in the most beautiful vignette in the world. The board and batten with that charcoal dresser, with that mirror with t.h.a.t. chair. Swooooooonnnnn.

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    • Thanks, Katja! Posting pictures of the bedroom is good for me because it reminds me of how I want to finish up in there–I might work on a project for the bedroom this weekend 🙂

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  7. Oh sweet Abe!!! He is a doll…reminds me of my Norah bean!!! And you rocked this one friend! The mirror really does something for that vignette and that wall! I love it! It reflects the light around! Great work here..and for free!!! Score!!!

    Reply ↓

    • Straight in the mouth with everything these days….and he’s getting too good at picking up tiny things–once we add in crawling I’ll never get to rest 😉

      Reply ↓

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