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Take a look on how my niece, Taylor and I took this old discarded framed mirror and transformed it into a stunning wood dowel mirror frame- DIY that we did in a day!
Table of Contents
Mirror that was used
Taylor had this old oval framed mirror that her boyfriend and her found curbside, ready for the trash. Knowing that this old framed mirror had potential. Taylor brought it to me and we discussed what look we wanted to give this. This is what we used for our wood dowel mirror frame
Supplies for wood dowel mirror frame
Below are all the supplies we used to repurpose this old framed mirror. Super easy to transform any mirror and make this wood dowel mirror frame!
- Fusion Mineral Paint-I used the color champlain so that the neutral color would work well with the natural wood dowels
- Wood dowels– I used 4″ 5/16″ . Just depends on your mirror frame and the length you want.
- Pruning shears– quick and easy way to cut these dowels with
- Sanding block– to smooth out rough ends of cut dowels
- Ruler– to measure the placement for the dowels before gluing
- Pencil– easy to erase if you need to recalculate
- Glue Gun & glue sticks– Best solution for adhering dowels down on frame
- Mirror hanging wire– Easy kit to apply to mirror. Hang hook on wall and you are all set!
Painting mirror frame
This old mirror was originally a dark stained wood frame. Then It was painted an orange. In order for us to have a good surface, we painted it in a neutral cream color, using Fusion Mineral paint for a good backdrop for the wood dowels.
Design for wood dowel mirror frame
Before we got started, we looked at different designs on google and a lot on pinterest. The wooden dowel frames all had a common starburst effect. We decided to do a similar layout, but not to go too big because of the specific wall space Taylor had for where this mirror would be hanging.
Cutting the wood Dowels
We bought 48″ long 5/16″ diameter dowels. In order to cut them we measured the sizes we wanted. Then using Pruning scissors we cut each dowel to the sizes we needed. We went with three sizes: 3″, 4″ and 5″. Once we were done with cutting them, we used a sanding block to smooth out the cut ends.
Laying out our design
We decided that the 5″ long wood dowels would be the longest length. So we placed one at the top, bottom and sides. Then we used an additional 8, 5″ dowels to fill in all four sides. We then placed a 4″ dowel on either side of the 5″ dowel. DFinally filling in the space with 3, 3″ dowels in between the 4″ ones.
Adhering dowels down on mirror frame
Once we had all the dowels laid out, we removed them and with a ruler and pencil, dew a straight line where all the 5″ dowels would be glued down. Using a glue gun and glue sticks run a line if hot glue on the pencil line and press the dowel down on this. It bonds in seconds!
Adding Wire to hang wood dowel mirror frame
The back of this mirror was missing a wire to hang so we added one. These come in easy kits. Decide on placement, screw in the hardware. Then use the wire and wrap around each screw and pinch with a plier on each side. Be sure to give the wire a little slack.
Wood dowel mirrors for the Non DIY’ers
I always like to include in all my DIY projects a section of simialr pieces that you can buy. Because not everyone has the time, energy, or desire to do a DIY prioject, vut loves the dfinished look! So shop below for some fun wood dowel mirror options!
Related posts
Check out some of the posts below for additional DIY projects!
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