Another Window Turned Mirror Project + I Glazed Something?

Monday, August 1, 2011

Oh,you're still here? Phew. I've been so busy this week! I haven't had time to share a few projects that I've been working on. 

{Side Note: I finished up my photography course a few weeks ago and then signed up for a summer photography workshop. I absolutely love it. The teacher is awesome and I've met some way cool picture-taker friends. I've also been spending some time learning how to use my way-fancy new iphone. Are you surprised that I got it in white? Alex surprised me by bringing me to the mall for an upgrade on my old cellphone. He suggested I get it.... he must like having a tech-y wife. Hee hee!}
So anywayzzzz, the project I finished up yesterday was a bigger and better old-window-to-mirror project sorta like the one I posted about here.

I’m not sure if you remember but a few months ago I scored another old window from a friend of a friend of a friend. It was pretty big and kinda rickety but I looooooved it.

This is what it looked like:


I really liked the chippy paint on the top half of the window frame but if you were to look closer you woulda noticed that it was only chippy on the top half. The bottom was raw, feathery wood. 

On my recent trip to Muskoka Living Interiors (where people like me only window shop) I saw a 6-paned window/mirror for $450. Cha-ching! It  inspired me to get going on my own waaaay cheaper version for our front entry.

Here's the proof in case you didn't believe me:


I decided to try and copy the little-bit-more-polished-look of the window/mirror from the fancy, expensive shop. I'll kind of explain what I did but I'm not calling this a tutorial since I'm missing pictures of various steps. Whoopsie! Summertime A.D.D. I guess. Also, many of the steps I explained in detail here.

So,here we go. First I sanded the window all over to get the peeling paint chips off. I think I used 150 grit sandpaper. Not for any good reason just ‘cause it’s all we had left at the time. The panes of glass were already removed but I did have to chip out some dried putty from the back of the frame. I just used a butter knife to scrape it off.

Once the window frame was sanded, I primed the front and back with Benjamin Moore’s Fresh Start Primer. I followed up with one coat of Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White in an Eggshell finish. I decided to use only one coat since I’d be sanding lots of the paint off anyway.

After the window was freshly painted and dry, I sanded and distressed the living daylights out of it. I used an electric sander for the flat bits and I did the skinny parts by hand. It was dusty. I wore a mask.

Now for the fun part. I decided to get all fancy-like and try glazing for the first time. Ooooooh ahhhhh. First I did some research and read a few posts from some glazing-expert-bloggers. I read these three posts:


We hit up Home Depot to pick up some supplies. I bought a quart of Behr’s Faux Glaze and bought a sample jar of paint (Behr's Expresso Beans)(kind of a chocolate brown colour) to tint it.



I also rounded up a plastic cup, a wooden skewer (???), a paintbrush, a bowl of water, and a roll of paper towels. I mixed the glaze and paint with a ratio of about 3:1. Who knows for sure though 'cause really I just eyeballed it.


What I found worked best was to paint on the glaze mixture, let it sit for about a minute, and then wipe it off with a dry paper towel. If I thought there was too much glaze I would wet a paper towel with a drop or two of water to get a little bit more off. 


If you work like me then you'll probably use a lot of paper towels.


What I really liked about adding the glazing step was that it filled in all the dings and dents to make it look like an old window again. I kind of liked it. I think I might do it again sometime. 

Back to the story. To give the window a bit of a store-bought, polished look I sprayed the whole thing with two coats of Varathane spray in a satin finish to seal it all up. I always mean to do this when I paint furniture but I never get around to it. I finally did this time. High five!

Now, about the rickety window frame. Before we added the mirrors we decided to take the whole window frame apart and put it back together with wood glue and clamp-y things. We did this because the wood was really old and we wanted it to be sturdy enough to hold 12 mirrors. So once we put wood glue in all the nooks and crannies we clamped the whole thing together for a few hours to make sure it was really solid.


When the glue was dry we laid all the mirrors in, face down, from the back.  

Last time we used little window clips to secure the mirrors but in this case, we would've needed to hammer in about 50 clips. So we decided to use silicone instead. Much faster.

We just applied a bead of silicone around the back edge of each mirror to secure each mirror pane to the window frame. We let the silicone dry for a few hours before we brought the mirror in to admire it.


 

We finished this project last night and didn't have a chance to hang it up yet since we left early this morning for another ROAD TRIP! Woo woo! (Chillin' in the hotel room right now while Alex takes a snooze. More details about this trip to come later.) Sooooo, you'll have to come back in a few days (will you? please?) to see how the mirror looks hung up in our front entry.

{Update: You can see the mirror all hung up and looking cute here.}

P.S. Getting the 12 panes of mirror custom cut cost about $80. All the other supplies we already had or were bought and will be used again for future projects.

P.S.S. The fonts and spacing might be all messed up but let's blame it on bad hotel room internet connections and not my blogging skills, k?

Store-Bought Window Mirror: $450
DIY Window Mirror: $80
iPhones: Awesomeness

Ooops. How did that last bit get in there? Are you still here even though this is the longest post of all time? You are!?!?!?!? You're my favourite. Okaybye.

Linking To These Cool Places: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm, Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage, White Wednesday @ Faded Charm, Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage, Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home, Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints On The Fridge, Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest, DIY Project Parade @ The DIY Show-Off, VIP Party @ Designer Cottage, Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

39 comments:

  1. Ha! Great post. Love the mirrors.

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  2. sarah that looks fabulous! and shazam on the price tag!

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  3. I'm working on my window like that! Love the idea to make it a mirror. I was thinking about making it a really cool display of photos...we'll see!

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  4. It turned out great!! Love the glazing!! And I will definitely be back to see it all hung up & looking pretty!! :) Have fun on your road trip!!

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  5. I'm really just in love with your blog :) You are so talented, this window piece looks amazing!
    ♥jaime...sevensisters

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  6. LOVE the window pane mirror - the glazing is awesome!

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  7. Lol... You'll never believe it... I got an iPhone last week too! TOTALLY ROCKS! I love your mirror. If turned out beautifully. The glaze is fun and easy, no? Enjoy your road trip...not coming my way are ya?
    Xo,
    Shannon
    www.akadesign.ca

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  8. Your Mirror is awesome! Love it!

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  9. Ooh, it looks great - and so much more interesting that a store-bought one. I'm always so impressed with you guys!

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  10. Hi Sarah..aren't those DIY window frame/mirrors the best!! When we moved the old farmhouse onto our yard to become our BnB building, I found old windows in the upstairs of the house. You can check out the 2 rooms where I have used them when you enter my website...www.thatcountryplace.com. You are great a projects!! I just got myself an Ipad....I think I will really like it too!! Have fun with the Iphone. Cheers!

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  11. Love, love, LOVE that window mirror. THAT is exactly what I've been wanting to do with mine.
    Thanks for this post!

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  12. The mirror looks AMAZING! And what a savings! I have been looking for a window frame mirror for my mantel but maybe I should just make one!
    -Shelley

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  13. How excited was I when I logged on to blogger dashboard this morning and saw a new post from you. I love your new mirror... at first I was a little disappointed that you were putting mirrors in. Was thinking it would be just as beautiful without them but then I saw the finished project and I am in love!!! Awesome job!!

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  14. Great job with the mirror. I love that women can see what they want and make it themselves.

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  15. What a great deal & what a great project. It's going to look fantastic on the wall! Great work.

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  16. That window mirror turned out lovely. Also glad you love your iphone :) Thanks so much for sharing at Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays

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  17. So not post related but you flooring is great !

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  18. Wow! Love the window mirror! I thought you had wood floors - can't take my eyes off those crazy tiles.

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  19. Great job! I'm looking for an old window to transform it into a mirror... Just haven't met the one yet!

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  20. Great job!! It looks fabulous.

    Kathy

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  21. Such a fun and informative blog! I am your newest follower. I saw your post over at "Shabby Nest" Frugal Friday.

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  22. LOVE your blog!! Your house is beautiful! Thanks for the comment :)

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  23. I JUST got an old window from a friend and I'm planning on turning it into a mirror. I'd love it if you'd come link this up at my Home and Family Friday linky party!

    Becca
    becca-homeiswheremystorybegins.blogspot.com

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  24. That is the most beautiful mirror! I'm smitten! I hope you will come show this off at my VIP Party today. http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/vip-party-22.html

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  25. It turned out fab! Great piece at a fraction of the price and the bragging rights too!

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  26. I love it!! turned out amazing! I am your newest follower

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  28. Great job! And you can't beat the price!

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  29. I don't know how I missed this post, but I just wanted to say that redoing this mirror was worth the work. It looks great and just as good as the really expensive one.

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  30. I just stumbled upon this lovely post, as I am working on a similar project. Where did you find the custom glass? Thanks for your help! :)

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  31. Looks great! Yes I am wondering where you got your custom glass mirrors?? Thanks!

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    1. We got ours done at a local glass shop called Bestway Glass. I brought in my measurements, they cut the glass pieces to size, and I was out of there in less than 15 minutes. It was great.

      I think you would have to call around where you live to find a place that does it. You might even want to try a window store.

      Hope that helps and good luck!

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  32. Hi. I'm decorating the bedroom and found a mirror I really love. BIG. And, I thought the same thing. It's way too expensive. So, I did a little search in Google and found your site. Thanks for the help. I can't wait to make my own.

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  33. Where did you get the mirrors from? :)

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  34. Where did you get the mirrors from?

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    1. Hi Cierra,

      We got ours done at a local glass shop called Bestway Glass. I brought in my measurements, they cut the mirror pieces to size, and I was out of there in less than 15 minutes. It was great.

      I think you would have to call around where you live to find a place that does it. You might even want to try a window store.

      Hope that helps and good luck!

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