Mirrored Furniture.....Part 2

Last year in December I had a little girl.  This was cause to celebrate and, of course, redecorate.  French reproduction furniture makes me crazy and I had to have some.....but it costs like crazy too.  I wanted a little armoire that looked something like the photo below, but under $400 not near $3000.

After searching the classifieds for a couple good deals, painting the pieces white, cutting some mirrors and adding a urethane molding accent, this is what I came up with.

To start, I purchased the armoire top from a furniture outlet.  It had a dent in one of the door panels that is now covered with a mirror.  Because it was only the top part of the armoire and it was dented it cost me about $80 I think.  Then I searched the classifieds for a coffee table that matched the dimensions and style of the armoire top.  What you are looking at is two separate pieces of furniture....an armoire top and a coffee table bottom.  

 Then I painted everything with primer and Rustoleum's Heirloom White in the spray can.  I like spray-can painting.  I get good coverage if I go over and over the furniture and if I'm careful, no lines, runs or brush marks.  

After painting you can get ready to cut some mirrors.  In Mirrored Furniture part 1, I discussed cutting mirrors.    Same idea here, except I had to cut some curves as well as straight lines. 

To cut the curves that matched the raised panels on the doors, I started by making paper patterns.  Once I had the patterns right, I placed them on the thinnest glass I could purchase.  Thin glass works well here because, a) the thinner the easier to cut curves, and b) it is stable and strong enough if glued to the thicker wood.  The thinnest, cheapest mirrors around are those door mirrors you can buy at Walmart or Lowes for 5 - 10 dollars.  They have a cheap plastic frame and thin cardboard backing.  Strip off the frame, pull off the glue holding the carboard on and you have a cheap, long, thin mirror to cut.  

To cut the panel mirrors, I cut the straight, side-cut first.  Then I placed my pattern over the mirror and used a glass marker to trace the lines.  I used the glass cutter to trace over the marker lines.  You use the same technique to score and break the scored mirror as mentioned in my earlier post.  This takes some practice.  I went through about 8 mirrors to get my cuts right, good thing they only cost me $5.  

Then, to top off the project, I added a urethane molding accent I ordered from crown-molding.com.  It was similar to the one pictured below and cost me about $28 dollars. 

These paint easily.  Once painted, I just glued it onto the top of my armoire.  

So what do you think?  Please ask me a question here.  For once, a question (from an adult) might be nice.  

Oh how I love Save-On-Crafts

Whenever I have a minute to myself, I check out the Save-On-Crafts website.  Love this site.  They have the best stuff at the cheapest prices.  My last purchase was their wide ribbon with roses.

10 yards is only $25....way less than anywhere else.  First I made a picture frame with the ribbon.  This only took a little glue from the glue-gun.  I don't recall even getting burned...painless.  Here's what the end product looked like.  

As you can see, I can't stop with just one thing....so then I glued the ribbon around some old candles.  And since it wasn't late, I glued it around a table-top box.  

 Why stop there right?  I ordered these ruffle-type pillows from Amazon.  I have one pictured below.  Anyway, I love those pillows, so I figured I would make my own version of them with the ribbon.

The Home Centric Ruffle pillow available at Amazon

My ruffle pillow with Save-On-Craft's ribbon

I'm going to leave some instructions on the pillow later.  I'm off to visit Save-on-Crafts.

Make Your Own Mirrored Furniture.....Part 1

I love glamorous furniture.  What is more glamorous than mirrored furniture.....nothing.  It is pricey though.  So, here is one of my attempts at making it myself.  I wish I had some before pics; but alas, I did not think that far ahead.  Here is the after pic.....let me know what you think.

To accomplish this little project, I purchased a nightstand at a consignment store.  It cost $50.  Before all the doctoring, it was the common french-type furniture they made in the 70's....white with gold trim.  First, I painted the whole thing oil-rubbed bronze.  I used Rustoleum's Painter's Touch Oil Rubbed Bronze paint.   I love leafing on furniture, but that takes sooooo long.  For those of us who like shortcuts, metallic paints are nice.  They give a shiny look.  It's not quite the same as leafing, but good enough for me.  In small doses, I think it works.

Next I planned where to put the mirrors.  I wanted to cover the drawers, side panels and top, but not every last square inch the nightstand.  After some measuring, I made paper patterns and taped them on.  This gave me an idea of what the end product would be like.  Then I started cutting mirrors.  To do this, you need thin cheap mirror squares or pieces.  Ikea sells mirrors in something like 12" x 12" sheets.....so does Lowes.  These work pretty well.  You will also need a glass cutter.  I ordered mine off of Amazon.

Cutting  glass is sort of an art.  It takes some practice.  What I learned is that measuring perfectly and using a guide, like a yard stick, is essential.  You only want to score the glass once with the cutter......that can't be emphasized enough.  Only score the glass once.  After it is scored, place the larger piece on the edge of a counter and apply even, downward pressure on the smaller piece.  You want your score line to match up with the edge of the counter.  The glass will snap and there you have it.....your measured piece of glass.  YouTube has some good videos demonstrating glass cutting.

Next, take your glass pieces and glue them to the wood.  I used Liquid Nails to do this.  You can see that I had to do some piecing to make the project work.  I also thought the patchwork look added some interest.

Do note, cutting straight lines is much much easier than cutting curved edges.  This can be done, but requires some additional practice and just plain luck.  I will make a later posting regarding cutting curves.   I did this for another furniture project.   Also, of note, drilling holes in glass is tricky.  I haven't been able to make this work.  So, to attach the pulls, I glued them on too with Liquid Nails.  This works okay.  Occasionally one of my kids will come along and bash the pull off.....then I re-glue it.  I know this isn't optimal, but it works for me.

In total I think this cost me about $80.  What do you think?  Any suggestions?

After I got the hang of cutting mirrors I went a little crazy and mirrored my filing cabinet.  Bad idea.

As my husband said, now we have something that is not only big and awkward to move, but fragile as well.  These pulls actually had to work well, so instead of just gluing them on, I cut the mirrors around the original drill holes.  Like I mentioned before, I haven't mastered drilling mirrors yet.  See the cracked mirror?  Bad idea.....what was I thinking?