Mirror, Mirror

     I have a bunch of empty walls.  It's been a challenge trying to decorate.  All my HGTV viewing has set my standards a bit higher than my budget and creative abilities.  I think I might have knocked this one out of the ball park, though.  Check out what I did with my dining room wall.
     These two pictures were my inspiration:

 
  

Mirror grouping

Shadow Box Frame

                                               















     Of course, it is almost impossible to find round frames in an assortment of sizes.  I found one website that offered to make any size, but it was expensive, and the frames were made from nice wood, like cherry.  That's too nice to paint over.  I went to Joe Adams, a woodworker who's shop, Wood Design and Development, is located off Marne Highway in the Hainesport industrial park.  Working with Joe is a fantastic experience.  He really listens, he offers options, and he's flexible.  I showed him this photograph of a bunch of paper circles taped to the wall:

     We decided that he would cut circular frames from MDF (medium density fibreboard, an engineered wood product).  He also took care of getting glass cut to fit from Creekside Glass and Mirror located in Pemberton.
     Once Joe had cut out the fifteen frames, I had to finish them and add the mirrors.  I ran into a little glitch at the start.  The cut edge of the MDF soaked up paint like a sponge.  A quick consultation with Google gave me some tips for sealing the edges.  Once the edges were sealed, I spray painted with flat black as a primer.  Next, I sprayed with hammered black, one of those cool textured finishes.  The hammered black was a bad choice since it was super shiny.  I sanded all the frames to get rid of the gloss.  I was left with a slightly pitted surface on the frames which was very pleasing.  The last painting step was to spray with satin black.  When the paint dried, I used a little clear caulk inside the frames and dropped in the mirrors.  Finally, I ran a thick bead of clear caulk around the outside edge of the mirror, where it met the frame, making a gasket.  This held the mirrors very securely.

Edge sealing and sanding

Fifteen finished frames

  

A thin layer of caulk which dries clear glued the mirror to the frame

A thick ring of caulk was the second step for keeping the mirrors in place

     The next challenge was putting the mirrors on the wall.  Ed, the guy who did my crown moldings suggested velcro.  Ed's a genius.  The velcro, sold in packets at Lowe's, was just the right thickness to fit in the gap behind the mirror.  The frames are held flush against the wall and they can't wobble out of place.

The slightly pitted texture of the finish

It's a swoosh.  Check out the reflection of the flowers in the mirror.

The end result

     From start to finish, this project took quite a bit of time, so long that my brother-in-law Chuck asked when I was going to take those paper circles off the wall.  If you have a woodworking or glass/mirror project I recommend Joe Adams (609-265-1010) and Creekside Glass (609-894-2733). If you need a handyman with great ideas, I could also hook you up with Ed.