Hello lovely chums, I thought I would show you one of the projects I've been working on during the last few weeks.
I did start working on it in our garage but the weather has been so perishing cold I brought it into the house to paint. Much to Morgana's delight as you can imagine.
I had been looking for an unusual large mirror for the dining room for some time. I really love the gilt 18th century ones but they come with a hefty price tag.
This one is for sale at £650. But some run into thousands.
Of course my house is not a grand 18th century country house, rather a marriage of Victorian stone with 20th century extensions. It has to be said it is not the prettiest of houses, but I grow to love it more and more.
The Victorian mirror I found on Ebay had been purchased by a local couple, well over 20 years ago, when they were on a motorcycling holiday in the UK. Found in an Antique shop, they had it sent to them and it arrived very badly damaged. They had fixed it up a bit but you could see the cracks and mended breaks in the dark wood.
It was my lucky day when they decided to sell it. I secured it for £10.
I started by giving the wood a good rub down and clean. Then using left over paint from my kitchen, I gave the mirror a coat of white paint, then two coats of a nice dark cream. Once they were all well dry I took some sand paper and 'distressed' the paint work slightly. I finished it off with some champagne coloured gilding wax. I'm very pleased with it and it works very well in my dining room.
What a bargain! Well done, on both finding it and the work you have done. It looks beautiful. x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Mrs. T.
DeleteJean
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Great find...and amazing transformation. It is GORGEOUS!! (And looks right at home in what I see reflected of your beautiful home!) ~Robin~
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Robin.
DeleteJean
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Your mirror turned out beautifully Jean!!! Well done you - I love it & what a transformation. It looks perfect!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Julie.
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What a find! It is fabulous and I love the shape of this mirror. You have restored it to perfection and it looks so at home on that wall. I like what I see in the mirror too :-) keep well Amanda x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Amanda.
DeleteJean
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What a great job you've made of it, and at just a fraction of the cost of the first one in your post. I actually prefer the shape of yours, more interesting.
ReplyDeleteHello Jean,
ReplyDeleteWell, you have worked wonders on the mirror.
It is difficult when things are restored to get a balance between looking good and looking too perfect. You have found the perfect mix. The colour is so pretty and the touch of gilding a masterstroke. It certainly looks like a million dollars worth now. Indeed, perhaps the motorcycle couple would not even recognise it and would buy it back!!
thank you very much for your kind comments and a warm welcome to the blog.
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