Loving layers: A mirror makeover

Before I get to my mirror makeover project, I have to tell you that taking pictures of a mirror isn’t easy. First of all, you have to take the pics from an angle that doesn’t show you reflected in it. Then you don’t always notice what’s being reflected in the mirror till you’ve taken a bunch of pictures… Jackson, get your butt out of the way!. DOH! And I don’t want to show you TOO much of the room, because it’s not finished yet and I want to keep it under wraps till it’s ready for it’s reveal.

I bought this mirror for the dining room a few years ago when there was a design plan for the dining room in the works:

Then that plan fell apart, but I had to keep the mirror because (1)  It was way past the “return by” date (although HomeSense has a really good return policy), and (2) it’s way too big to lug back to the store anyway.

So what to do with it… hmmm… well, I recently saw two mirrors that inspired an idea. This one from Habitat for Humanity’s  Gift Home here in Ottawa:

And this mirror makeover by Kerri at Driftwood Interiors:

I decided that my mirror needed to be black. $10 for two cans of enamel spray paint, and last Saturday afternoon, the mirror changed from this:

To this (there’s hubby working on the next step of the project):

Much better, but not done yet! This diamond mirror had been sitting in the hallway for over a year, leaning against the wall where I was planning to hang it (yes, I procrastinate just a bit!)

And then it hit me – the AH-HA! moment. It had been right there in front of me all along, and I hadn’t even realized it. Remember this post last week about layered mirrors? Can you see where this is heading…?

I asked hubby to hold the diamond mirror in front of the big mirror – perfect! But how to hang it,.. I found this little tutorial on layering mirrors by designer Tricia Huntley over at Apartment Therapy:

To float a decorative mirror directly on top of a mirrored wall, you do need to plan ahead. You should ask your contractor to add blocking to the area where the decorative mirror will hang. And when the mirror/glass vendor comes to measure for the wall mirror, tell them to cut out a +/-6” hole (depends on the size of your decorative piece) in the mirror so you’ll be able to attach hanging hardware.

Image via Marcus Design, designed by Kelley Proxmire

If you live in an apartment, and don’t have this option, there is an alternative. Screw an I-hook in the ceiling very close to the wall above your vanity area. If need be, paint it to match the ceiling color. Attach a piece of fishing wire or any type of strong, translucent wire to the back of your mirror. String it through the eyehook and loop it back through the picture wire of the decorative mirror, so you don’t see any loose ends. Add felt bumpers to the back of your mirror if there aren’t any. The wire will be virtually invisible and the mirror should rest against the wall mirror.

We couldn’t drill holes through the big mirror without having a catastrophe, and the diamond mirror is too heavy to hang from fishing wire. The sucker weighs 35 pounds! What to do…. well, being the analytical guy that he is, hubby came up with a plan. He screwed two I-hooks into the top of the diamond mirror at each end and slipped a chain link over each I-hook.

He made two L-hooks with slots in the front and attached them to the top of the black mirror. Each L-hook is lined up with each I-hook on the diamond mirror. The chain fits into the slot in the L-hook.

And voila, layered mirrors!

 

Because the chains are visible, it doesn’t look quite as cool as layered mirrors that appear to float. But they still create the cool effect and depth that you get with layered mirrors.

 

Not quite as impressive as these mirrors, but not too bad :-)

Image via Luxe & Lucid, designed by Bunny WIlliams

I’ll be showing you more of the dining room makeover soon, including the artwork that Fifi Flowers created for me. In the meantime, head on over to Between Naps on the Porch to check out more Metamorphosis Monday makeovers. The party starts at 9;00pm.