Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

I finished the trumeau mirror!  Remember the one I was so excited to find buried in the depths of a junk store? Well, I wasn't so thrilled about the faux oak finish.  What's up with those black speckles anyway? Is that supposed to make the wood look more authentic? Strange!

So, I found the paint color I THOUGHT would be perfect...Gossamer Blue...well, of course, it wasn't.  Paint always appears darker on the swatch than in real life (note to self).  So I didn't panic when the paint dried and appeared VERY light...like, almost cream colored, light! I went back to Benjamin Moore and purchased a little sample pot in a much darker shade of blue/gray, called Hemlock, and dry brushed it over the lighter color.  

The effect was awesome, and actually looked as if I did it on purpose.  Ummmm,  I meant to do that...yeah, okay, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! It gave the mirror the ILLUSION (I write that in all caps because I am keeping it real) of being an antique with original paint.

See how the lighter color is peeping through the darker shade? 
I did this to the entire mirror.

I painted all but the carved detail and two ledges (a top and bottom) Gossamer Blue/Hemlock , and let it dry. I then went back and painted the remainder of the mirror Linen White (my favorite BM paint color).  It was a little tricky to "stay in the lines" but I used an art brush and took my time.

Yuck...you can really see that speckly black in this photo.

Once the two coats of cream paint dried, I sanded and distressed the entire mirror.  I heavily distressed the carved details so that they would POP! They are the prettiest feature of this mirror, so I want your eye to go directly to it.

Finally, I used a little liquid gold, i.e. Midwax Dark Walnut stain, and rubbed down the mirror to blend everything together and give the mirror a cool antique look.  It does a great job of toning down the brightness of new paint. I also had to purchase a hanging kit from the hardware store.  This beauty weights a ton, so it will need to be hung very carefully...I'm breaking out the stud finder for this one! For now it sits on the mantle, but the scale is a bit off so it is going to move to the empty wall to the left ("To the left, to the left"... sorry, I can't say "to the left" without thinking of my girl, Beyonce!)

French-like (smile) trumeau mirror ($18)

Now, don't think I would get you all excited about my mirror, and not make one for you! I'm not a mean girl like that! I just finished this gorgeous cream colored/heavily distressed mirror, and guess what? It's for sale! It is such a statement piece and would really open up a room with it's large scale.  I'll put it on the Couture Collection page with more details.  Enjoy!