Restored Arched Mirror

Months and months ago I found an arched mirror at the thrift store for five dollars.

It was a 3-foot tall wood mirror with a gorgeous shape, so even if the mirror itself was a little wobbly in the frame, five bucks was a steal!

The mirror had been painted an off-white color and painted well, I might add.

I find it ironic that the ugliest paint jobs are always the hardest to remove. Why is that?

Due to the intricate detail on the frame of this arched mirror, my only choice was to either paint over the bad paint job or strip the paint. I chose to strip the paint using my go-to paint remover, Citristrip.

I’m not sure Citristrip is the best product for every paint removal project, but it is what I had on hand.

It took several hours and all my patience over a number of days for me to get all the paint out of the nooks and crannies of this mirror. I even had to bust out a toothpick to get in the smallest grooves.

It was equal parts satisfying and painstakingly tedious to remove all the paint.

Have I ever mentioned that tedious, detail-oriented work is not where my skillsets shine?

Oh, I have?

A few times?

Huh.

It seems I’m better at whining more things than I thought.

When I was finished, I applied some stain and some Howard Feed-N-Wax Wood Polish & Conditioner to the mirror frame and called it good.

My intent was to use this arched mirror in our upstairs bathroom, but we are nowhere near starting the remodel on that bathroom, so it sat in a closet for awhile.

However, we did have one spot where the arched mirror could work. I didn’t really consider hanging the mirror there until a picture fell off the wall in the middle of the night and took ten years off my life.

Do we have a ghost causing trouble?

Was there an earthquake?

Or did gravity just do a number on an old frame?

Hmm…hard to say, friends. Hard to say. But I do have my suspicions.

Handy Husband didn’t hear a thing, by the way. Hmm…convenient.

Anyway, I now had a blank spot on a wall and a mirror without a home.

What do you think of my mirror makeover?

Was it worth the five bucks and the time it took to strip the paint?

This mirror is not in its final spot, but I am happy this project is complete!

In fact, I am SO happy to be done stripping paint that I haven’t taken on another paint removal project since. I am itching to get started on that bathroom remodel though.

Room Sources:

Arched Mirror: thrifted, but it reminds me a little of this one from Pottery Barn.

Runner: Rugs USA

Art: Thimble Collection – read about it here

Wall Color: Behr Arcade White

Trim Color: Behr Bit of Sugar

Thanks for sharing five minutes of your day with me! It really does make me smile. Here are some other posts you might enjoy.

DIY Geometric Mirror Using Children’s Blocks

Trash to Treasure Mirror

9 Parent Tips for Transitioning Kids to Contacts

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