Brock Designs, Portland OR. Interior Design Company

On Tuesday we talked about Wabi Sabi, the beauty in aged and “damaged” possessions and its perfect imperfection.  Did you find yourself looking around your home for a sign of Wabi Sabi like I did?  I found this great tutorial on Salvage Savvy on how to hand-antique a mirror to give that stylish, imperfect look that would blend seamlessly into this style.

Image via House Beautiful

Shopping List:

3 boxes of plain edge 12″x 12″ mirrors

Paint stripper

Scraper

Chemical-grade gloves

Muriatic acid (in spray bottle)

2 cans of black spray paint

Glass adhesive & caulk gun

4′ x 8′ MDF board cut down to 36 1/2” x 72 1/2“ (most hardware stores can cut this for you)

Drop cloth

Step by Step:

~ Lay your drop cloth down outside by a water hose

~ Place all mirrors reflection side down on the drop cloth

~ With your gloves on, spread paint stripper generously over the backs of the mirrors and let sit for about 10-15 minutes

~ Using the scrapper, remove the paint from the backs of the mirrors

~ Wash off the backs of the mirrors (and your gloves, but don’t take them off) with the outdoor hose

~ Now spray the Muriatic Acid on the back of one mirror square (this stuff can be very dangerous so be careful.  Follow all directions directly on product label).  Wait about 10-20 second and wash it off.  Take a look at the other side to see what you think.  If you would like it more “antiqued” then spray again and wait 20-60 seconds before you wash off.  Each mirror will be different so repeat this step for each one individually.  Should look something like this:

Image via Salvage Savvy

~ Wash all mirrors thoroughly and let dry.

~ Lay down a dry drop cloth and transfer dry mirrors to it

~ Spray paint the backs of all the mirrors with the black spray paint

~ Sand the edges of your MDF

~ Spray paint the sides and the front with your black spray paint (you only have to spray paint about 3″ around the front of the MDF since the mirrors will cover the rest) and let it dry

~ Install a wall anchor system on the MDF to ensure it won’t fall.  (This mirror is meant for leaning up against a wall but installing this will make it that much safer)

~ Now it’s time to apply your mirrors.  You will have 1/4” border of black around the MDF around the entire piece so center your first row of mirrors and work your way down (I would advise placing all of the mirrors on to make sure they fit properly before gluing them down)  and apply them using the glass adhesive (follow the product label and directions)

Your finished product should look something like this:

Image via Salvage Savvy

Such a fun weekend day project and fairly simple for the outcome!  I can’t wait to try it!

Images and directions via Salvage Savvy