DIY

DIY: Take your Ikea Mirror from Basic to Bada$$

I’ve had this Ikea mirror for a while now. We originally had it in our master bedroom at the Charleston House and when we moved, I put it in our new master. I’ve been sitting on this DIY for a few months and just haven’t gotten around to blogging it yet. File this project under “so easy, I’m kind of emabarassed to create a tutorial.”

While I loved it in our Charleston Master, I was underwhelmed with it in the Pawleys house. So, I decided to try it in the living room. We don’t get a ton of natural light in the space and by hanging the mirror across the room from the window, I hoped to get a bit more through the reflection.

It does just that, but, I wasn’t in love with the dark mirror and really wanted to update it. I tried a couple of Pinterest Tutorials that were a complete fail. The mirror is not real wood and no matter what Pinterest tells you, it can not be sanded and stained. Luckily, I used the back of the mirror to experiement with, so, no harm, no foul. After a lot of brain storming, I decided wallpaper would solve my problems. It is inexpensive and ultimatley removeable.

I went to my local Wallpaper Store, Wallpapers by Lynne. Lynne and her daughter Amber own and run the store and they are so helpful and wonderful. I love working with them on design projects. I originally planned on buying some paintable faux grasscloth and painting it in my favorite shade of navy, Navel by Sherwin Williams. But, I found a faux grasscloth in a lighter blue shade that I loved and ended up with that instead.

If you are going to attempt this project, I would recommend getting prepasted wallpaper. You can do it with unpasted, but it just makes it easier to choose a wallpaper that is ready to go.

I thought I took in progress pictures, but I can’t find them anywhere. Luckily, it was super easy!

Step 1: Supplies

Pick out your pre-pasted wallpaper and grab supplies. I used a large spray bottle, a wallpaper smoother, a sponge, bucket, and boxcutter.

Step 2: Measure and cut.

Divide the mirror down the center lengthwise and cover it one half at a time. First, I went from the middle point at the top to the left (and down). Then, from the middle point at the top to the right (and down). So, my seam is right down the middle on the top and bottom of the mirror. I premeasured leaving myself some extra and cut a strip for each side.

Step 3: Wet the paste.

Lay the strip of wallpaper on a drop cloth and spray the pasted side with the water bottle. You want to get it pretty wet so the paste activates, but not so wet that you risk tearing the paper.

Step 4: Hang the first strip.

After the paper was good and wet, I lined the strip of paper up with my midline at the top of the mirror and started to adhear it using my hand and wallpaper smoother. Once it started to stick, I wet my sponge in th bucket and used that to press it down the length of the mirror.

Step 5: Smooth the paper.

Once the paper is up and you’ve gone over it with the wet sponge, use the smoother to smooth out any bubbles .

Step 6: Cut the Corners

In order to lay the corners flat, I just used the box cutter to cut the seams and then overlapped them like when you wrap a present. Once you do that, you can easily wallpaper the inside and outside “frames” of the mirror as well. And, you can easily trim any access wallpaper with the boxcutter. *Tip: Just make sure the paper has dried a bit before you attempt to trim it. You still want it to be damp, but if it is too wet or too dry, it won’t cut smoothly.