DIY painted herringbone mirror

19 Feb 2020

Upcycling is taking over in a big way – not only keeping the planet happy, but also providing those with an eye for design a way to get crafty and have fun. For a touch of glamour in your bedroom or living room, add a painted metallic pattern to a vintage mirror with this simple DIY.

You will need:

• High quality painter’s masking tape
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Testpot brush
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours – Sarah chose Resene Rice Cake and Resene Rose Gold metallic paint
• Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer        

Step 1 This mirror was a stunning find, however, it did have a few imperfections in the glass that come with old age. Sarah revived it by adding a painted herringbone design. For any mirror project, first start with a good clean one and remove any price stickers.

Step 2 Mask out a herringbone design along the bottom third of the mirror only. Sarah didn’t want to obscure the whole reflective surface so she made sure the design included some negative space (that’s the part of the pattern that doesn’t get painted) so that onlookers can still see their reflection.

Step 3 Once the design is masked out, apply a coat of Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer and let it dry, then apply the paint colours in 2-3 coats using a Resene testpot brush. Sarah chose to alternate between Resene Rice Cake and Resene Rose Gold metallic paint.

Step 4 Remove the masking tape very carefully. Painted glass is delicate, so it pays to be extra careful. Using high quality tape to start with and applying pressure onto the paint while you lift the tape up can help.

Step 5 Style or hang your glam ‘new’ mirror as you like. It would look fabulous on top of a dresser alongside perfume bottles and jewellery.

Top tip: Painting a design onto a mirror is a decorative project and not suitable for a hard wearing mirror that needs to be cleaned often. Adding a painted detail like this makes cleaning a little bit more delicate, so it’s best placed somewhere it can be kept safe from fingerprints.

This freshly decorated mirror has a new lease of life featuring Resene Rice Cake and Resene Rose Gold metallic paint. To bring the look together, why not try painting some small decorative items in Resene Rose Gold metallic paint to flank the mirror?

project and images Sarah Herring

Published: 19 Feb 2020