A Tale of Three Mirrors

 

                                                                                                                                                            Mirror mirror, on the wall ...

Recently I realized three of the mirrors in our home all had stories behind them, a personal history...not like a mirror you would purchase at a bricks and mortar store.  Beginning with an old ornate, gold leaf mirror in our dining room, this treasure was purchased several years ago at a rummage sale.  Chunks of the gesso corners were missing and broken. The mirror has some age spots and streaks which adds to its charm and character, I would not dream of having it "resilvered".  I restored the missing pieces by sculpting them with one of my favorite products,  a made-in-Japan product called Paperclay.  After this phase of restoration, I completely redid the the gold leafing using a gold leaf composition.  A clear coat of satin varnish finished the mirror.  I might add how shocked I was at the cost of moving this mirror when we relocated considering I bought it at a giveaway price. :-)

One of my favorite mirrors hangs over our mantle.  This "frame" was bought about 15 years ago at a yard sale in Clinton, TN.  I put it back in a corner and knew someday it would be a mirror.  It became a mirror when we moved to Plano, TX.  I repainted the frame using a cream color, "antiqued" it with some variations of burnt umber colored paint.  After getting a piece of mirror cut, it was ready to hang over the mantle.  I feel this mirror was made for this spot!  The cost of the frame pre-mirror?  $2.00  Who would ever guess?

The third mirror with a history came with our house.  It is one of those that were somehow permanently attached to the bathroom walls.  Just a plain piece of mirror, some choose to frame it with wood to give it a new look.  I decided to frame it with paint, I painted a "gold leaf frame" around it in a "trompe l'oeil" style.  It was rather difficult to get a good photo of it in its entirety but maybe the photo will give you an idea.  Get tried of the "frame"?  It can be easily be painted over.

For great decorating pieces, I don't think you can beat some beautiful mirrors that make the rooms more spacious by catching and reflecting light.