How to Etch a Mirror

Stay with me on this one, friends.  I will be jumping around, but it will all tie together in the end.  Last year I bought a plain unframed mirror and placed it in our fireplace.  I put battery-operated candles in front of it so that when they were turned on, there would be a double reflection of light.  Then we installed gas logs, and I didn’t need the mirror in that spot anymore.

 

 

Fast forward to this year.  My husband and I recently spent a few days at West Baden Springs Resort in Indiana to get away, ride bikes, and chill out.  (It was over 100 degrees, so there was nothing chillin’ about the weather).  Our room had beautiful mirrors that resembled Venetian glass.  The DIY in me decided those mirrors would be easy to duplicate with a stencil and some iridescent glass paint.

 

 

The paint was on sale for 79 cents and the stencil was $3.99, both from Michaels.

 

 

I liked this stencil pattern because it resembled the mirror at the hotel.  I used the full stencil in the mirror’s four corners.

 

 

Since I didn’t have a stencil brush, I used a new make-up sponge and just dabbed the paint onto the mirror.  After the corners were finished, I taped off half of the stencil and filled in the border with that design.

 

 

The pattern is very subtle.  This photo certainly does not do it justice.  It is not smeared or dusty at all.  The slight sheen in the paint adds another dimension to the finished mirror.

 

 

I love the look of mirror layered over mirror and so I leaned the etched mirror on the mirror that surrounds our bar.  The black and white photo is a shot of an architectural detail that I took in Paris.  The photos design sort of duplicates the mirror’s design.  That was a total accident.

 

 

You know how difficult it is to photograph mirrors, and since the bar has mirrors on three sides, this was a toughy.  You cans see more of the faux etching here, plus you catch a glimpse of my antique high wheel bike that we use as a piece of sculpture.

 

 

Our bar (here and here) has really evolved since we moved in.  It went from orange formica from the previous owner to black slate with yellow walls.  One thing that has remained constant is the glass shelving.  Eliminating the glass shelves and installing wooden ones is a future project.  I always fear the shelves will collapse during a party if somewhat takes a glass off in the wrong way.

 

 

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the added interest that the etched mirror adds.  (Disclamier:  Two-thirds of those corks were given to us by a friend)!!!

*****

Click here to like The 2 Seasons on Facebook.

Take care.