DIY Trumeau Mirror

It's time for the Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest again which comes once a month on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Did I tell you how excited I am to be participating again for this month's challenge. I have wanted to make one of these for years and here was my opportunity...



Every month's challenge has a theme and the theme for this month's is "Icing on the Cake" and happens to be sponsored by the D. Lawless Hardware, so the prize packages will be from them . They were generous enough to offer a first and second prize!  Here's to hoping! (Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I did receive product from them for this project)


As I browsed their online catalogue and saw that besides some wonderful hardware, they also had some wood appliqués, I fell in love. I then knew what I was going to do for the challenge… to finally make a trumeau mirror. I just needed to gather and put all of the pieces together.


I chose this hand carved 12" wood swag w/ribbons, leaves and berries. If I win the challenge, I will definitely be picking out more wood appliqués! They are just gorgeous!


The frame was already in my stash and it was just the right width for above the mirror. A thin piece of wood was cut to replace the glass. The swag was a little lost in the frame so I added the little mirror above it to embellish it even further and I think they work beautifully together.


This is the dresser mirror that I started out with. When I first saw the set of 3 a few months ago at the thrift store, I knew they would be great for making Trumeau Mirrors. Now I had to figure out what I was going to use to mount the mirror and swag onto. The plan was to use a table leaf as the background base, but when I finally bought it (I waited a few weeks for it to go on sale at the thrift store), it was not long enough to incorporate the swag and a few other items that I wanted. So on to plan B. While at Lowes one day, I found a piece of wood that seemed wide and long enough to do the job.

It was 24" x 72", which seemed too long at first, but then ended up being just right.

Anatomy of my Trumeau Mirror

Since I was limited by the tools that we have or rather do not have, I tried to use items that were ready made and didn't require cutting or constructing. The frame was just the right width to go above the mirror. And the shelf on the top (not seen in this photo, added after it was taken), and the shelf on the bottom were both the perfect widths. My husband secured all the pieces with screws from behind.

Now it was time to decide what paint I was going to use. And since I had the option of using any type, I decided to attempt to replicate an authentic antique French Trumeau. I knew that the techniques learned from the Farragoz class would do the trick to give me the "Old World" patina look that I love.


I put on 3 layers of homemade gesso and then one layer of light grey and one layer of dark grey homemade milk paint. It was thicker than normal and when I brushed it on, it really reminded me of icing a cake. Here it is with the last coat of dark grey paint.


Since it was already really heavy and I couldn't find any moulding that I felt would compliment it, and to save money, I decided to paint a border along the edges. I searched Pinterest and found a page from an old architectural ornaments book and replicated it with my Silhouette Designer program, mirroring it for each side.


After printing it out from the computer, I transferred it with copy paper down the sides. And then began painting it in gold. I also painted the frame around the swag and mirror in gold touches.

The grey seemed a little flat to me and lacked interest so I took my newfound treasure… some clear GLAZE and added it to two lighter shades of grey that I mixed together  in a ratio of 1 part glaze to 1 part paint. I used a simple chip brush to apply it in a random pattern. And then dragged a pallet knife to remove some of it along the painted decorative border.

Then I added white wax to the swag and small mirror and then used dark wax to seal the rest of it. I love how wax gives a piece more depth and marries the colours.

And the distressing step, well… had me distressing about whether people would "get it"… you know the look of turning something new into something that looks old… not everyone understands… or appreciates that kind of look…

I love that it has a little shelf for displaying things on. The geode and crystal were my father-in-law's. The little Eiffel tower glass jar, now vase, was one of those with the peppers in it that I cleaned out.

The walls in our rental home have that "Abandoned Chateau" look, which in this case just made the mirror look like it belonged! lol

Thankfully my hubby took care of figuring out how to hang it without ripping down the wall or having the mirror fall down. He used a metal cleat system as you can see above that is called HAN G MAN. Phew… glad the labor pains are over!

Here's a better close-up… So what do you think… does it look authentically old? I sure learned a few things from trial and error… I just hope I remember them the next time I want to recreate this finish! :o) Well I better get started on the other two mirrors before I forget how to!

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think it looks like the icing Marie Antoinette would have on her cake! ;o)


To see all of the entries in the Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest head on over to Dandelion Patina or Evey's Creations.

If you are a blogger who paints furniture and would like to take part in the Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest you can contact Stacy from Anastasia Vintage at info@anastasiavintage.com or Evey from Evey's Creations at info@eveyscreations.com.

Hope I have inspired you to get your creativity on!

Blessings,
Lucy

UPDATE… MY MIRROR WON!!!

A big Thank you to The creators of the Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest, Evelin and Stacy and their co-hosts for the opportunity that they have given me and other bloggers to get noticed by Sponsors who may not have otherwise found us small time bloggers. You ladies rock!

And a Huge Thank You to D. Lawless for Sponsoring this month's contest and for choosing my project. I look forward to picking out my selection of their hardware and wood appliqués for future projects as my winnings!

Partying at these locations...

Before and After Linkup @ Thrifty Decor Chick
Friday Favorites @ Remodelaholic
Swing into Spring @ DIY by Design
Upcycled Link Party @ Funky Junk Interiors
Share it One More Time @ One More Time Events
DIY Sunday Showcase @ The Interior Frugalista
Saturday Sparks @ Pieced Pastimes
Silver Pernnies Sundays @ Finding Silver Pennies
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings
That DIY party @ diy showoff
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants
Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life
Simple and Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme
Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Your Turn to Shine @ Bless'er House
Think and Make Thursdays @ Little Red Brick House
Creative Spark @ Two Purple Couches
The Creative Circle @ Up to Date Interiors
Feathered Nest Fridays @ French Country Cottage
The Inspiration Gallery @ craftberry bush
Creativity Unleashed @ Practically Functional
Shabbilicous Fridays @ The Shabby Art Boutique
Inspiration Friday @ The Painted Drawer
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
A morning Cup of Joe @ The Cottage Market
Something to Talk About @ Spain Hill Farm
Inspire Me Monday @ Sand  and Sisal
The Scoop @ Stone Gable
Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Vintage Inspiration Party @ My Salvaged Treasures
Dream Create Inspire @ Refresh Living
Creative Spark @ Two Purple Couches