HOW TO SALVAGE A CURB-SHOPPED CLOSET DOOR PANEL | DIY DECORATIVE WALL MIRROR BAROQUE-INSPIRED | YOUTUBE VIDEO
Hello sweet friends, and Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were awesome. Mine were lovely, quiet and relaxing. Exactly what I needed to recharge and I’m so excited to be back creating again. To kick off the year, I’m starting with a home decor project that you can easily DIY with any old dated frame. Over the holidays I was looking to purchase a full-length baroque mirror for my living room. I didn’t find anything I wanted for under $300 and then I remembered I had two full-length closet door mirrors to ‘play’ with sitting in my garage. I’m so glad I tried this project and I can’t wait to share how it looks all styled in my living room.
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Here is the mirrored door panel I found curbside. There were two of them. I still have the other one stored in my garage. I was going to go out and get the second one as well but brrrrrrr. I don’t know what the weather is like where you are but it’s super cold here. Working on this piece I was dressed in leggings, track pants, tank and t-shirt because even with a space heater, my basement studio still feels chilly. Today is minus 7 but it feels like minus 16 with the windchill in the Greater Toronto Area.
This is a close-up of the black frame. It’s made of a black coating on top of MDF boards which makes this a fairly heavy and sturdy piece.
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WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Trashed Closet Door Mirror – SALVAGED
Heavy Duty Cleaner | Sponge
Woodubend Appliques
Heat Gun | Glue
Bonding Boss Primer
Gold Metalic Paint
2″ Mini Paint Brush
Bronze + Black Gilding Wax
BAROQUE FULL-LENGTH MIRROR MAKEOVER
Here’s how I transformed this curb find…
REMOVE PLASTIC HARDWARE
The plastic hardware on the back of this panel wasn’t needed so I started by removing them. This looked better because I didn’t have the plastic tabs sticking out on the top and bottom.
CLEAN
It was filthy and needed a super good cleaning. Not only from being found roadside but from being stored in the back of my garage for so many years. These panels must have been in storage for over 10+ years now.
WOODUBEND
Now for the fun part – time to play with so Woodubend. If you’re new here and unfamiliar with this product, Woodubend is a brand of bendable wood moldings/appliques/and trim made from recycled wood fibers. When warmed up with a heat gun or hair dryer, these moldings can bend around any shape or project you are working with. You glue them on while they are still pliable, then they dry and look and feel like real hardwood again.
I keep ALL my Woodubend pieces from old projects. Even the broken pieces and previously painted pieces. I never throw anything away because these wood moldings can be reused and glued together in unique designs. I have a full post on How To Apply Woodubend here and a full post on How To Remove Woodubend here.
Once I played around and figured out the look I wanted, it was time to heat them up and glue them on.
I found the design and moldings I wanted but they were too large for the top of my mirror. No worries. These wood appliques are so darn easy to customize. I just warmed them up with my heat gun and cut them to size using a craft knife.
I used No More Nails to glue these in place because I had a tube I wanted to use before it went bad – but any heavy-duty glue will work.
PRIME
Once my ornate wood decor was on, I primed using this Clear Bonding Boss primer. I applied two coats and let it dry overnight.
PAINT METALLIC GOLD
This mirror looked pretty scrappy and DIY’d up until this point. But after the first coat of Gold Metallic paint went on, I knew my vision was coming alive! I painted two coats of gold metallic and let it dry before antiquing.
ANTIQUE GILDING WAX
I could have left the frame in metallic gold and called it a day because it looked beautiful. But I wanted an old vintage-baroque-inspired frame with a lot of character. I wanted it to look like it had some history. Using an artist’s brush, I dabbed into the Bronze Gilding Wax and brushed and dabbed it on. There’s no right or wrong way of applying the gilding wax. You don’t want to be too ‘precious’ or ‘precise’ because otherwise, it will look too uniform and not authentic.
I added bit of this Black Gilding Wax to darken it in some areas. Then I wiped back the excess. Once the wax was applied over the entire frame, I buffed it up using a soft rag.
Below is a close-up difference between the gold metallic paint on its own, and after it has been antiqued with the gilding wax. They both look gorgeous so it’s all personal preference and what suits your decor.
FINISHING DETAILS
I buffed the wax a little more for the finishing details and cleaned the glass mirror using Windex and a paper towel.
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Hi Denise. I just found you and love your youtube vids! I’m hoping you can help me find a product… I have a large mirror that I would like to use for a mixed media project. Do you know if there’s a way to prime the mirror so things will stick, yet still allow some reflective quality to remain? I want to use things like colored glass and beads, as well as paper and other solid objects, so I would like it if light were still able to bounce back through the clear-ish items. Any ideas? Thank you!
Hmmm, great question Tami. What about a CLEAR bonding primer like Bonding Boss? It sticks to everything. It goes on milky but dries clear. But I’m guess it won’t look crystal clear like the mirror before but rather still somewhat reflective but muted… if that makes sense. ?? OR, how about not priming and using a heavy duty adhesive like Liquid Nails? I would test before doing the entire mirror. Hope this helps and so happy you like the videos/blog!🤗
Hi Denise! Happy New Year friend! I tell you what, woodubend moldings can make anything look so much better. Great job!
Happy New year my friend! I hope your holidays were amazing! And yes, I agree… it’s like magic, lol
It looks lovely now Denise!
I’m toying with the idea of turning a larger mirror similar to yours into a Pier Mirror for my front entryway. I’ve got bits from an ornate, smaller mirror and am going to use vintage door trim to widen it. Have you ever done anything like that?
I haven’t but this sounds like an amazing upcycling idea! It will look gorgeous!!!
Super great idea! You turned a boring sterile piece into an amazing warm old world pièce de resistance! I never tire of your fabulous creations.
Aww, thanks my friend!🤗 I hope your holidays were fabulous and Happy New Year! XOXO
I love this antiqued mirror! You have the gift of vision and I appreciate you sharing your gift Denise. Now I want to try some woodbend!
Awww, thank you for the kindness Nicki. Seriously, this would be no fun (sharing) without you. i appreciate you so much. And ya, I hope you get the chance to try some Woodubend, it’s awesome AND beautiful!🤗
Happy New Year Denise!
What a huge difference you made to this mirror! It looks so rich – AND EXPENSIVE! but we’ll keep the cost part just between us! I LOVE IT. Kudos Denise!
Happy New Year Caye!!🎉 Yes, this was cheap and cheerful and it will be OUR secret, hehe. Thanks so much! XOXO
Happy New Year, my friend! What a great way to repurpose an old mirror. Love this project! And the gold is perfection. But I have to say, Gidget may have stole some thunder here. What a cute doggo. 🐾 So glad you’re back and can’t wait to see what you create in 2025. 😘 xo
Happy New Year Do! I hope you’re holidays were fabulous and you had some nice well deserved relax time! I’m really happy with the way this mirror turned out as well but yes, it doesn’t hold a candle to all that Gidgy cuteness…lol. Have an amazing day my friend. XOXO
Amazing, the change up is stunning and I love the colour. As always you nailed it, its beautiful.
Happy new year BTW. xx
Happy New Year Janette and thank YOU!! The antique gold is adding a lot of warmth to the room. I had my ‘fake’ battery powered candles on last night and this mirror reflected them beautifully… I was impressed!😃
Hi Denise. This mirror is absolutely lovely. It could easily sell for $300 in a store! Well done.
As for the dresser, I have NO ideas. Unfortunately, I’m not as creative as you. I do very much look forward to seeing what you do to beautify it.
Hi Monique and Happy New Year to you!! So glad you like the mirror and I have to be honest, I don’t have any ideas for this dresser yet either…lol. I’m heading down to my studio today to clean it up and start thinking up some colors/ideas. Have a great week!
Lovelt!
YAY, thanks Cynthia!
I love the mirror! How about putting a more modern base on the dresser? I would love to see a tutorial on how to build and install one.
So glad you like the mirror and ya, I’m not loving the base on this old dresser either. I’ll be honest, I’m a little intimidated to build and install a new base …lol. Love your idea tho!
Nice one! I cant believe what you find in the trash where you live! It amazes me. Okay, about that dresser you are going to do, I have a chest of drawers of that same design, so I will be interested in seeing what you do with it. Please! nothing girly! I am a grumpy old man and pink isn’t my color. hahaha
Just for that, it might be very girly or pink Michael😂🤣! Tomorrow is the day I’m going to start cleaning, sanding and thinking of colors/style. I hope something inspires me. And ya, we have GREAT finds here on bulk day which is every second week.
SO good!! Happy new year, my friend! XOXO
Aw, thank you and Happy New year my friend! XOXO The time off did me a world of good and so nice to be back creating!
That is AMAZING !! Looks like a $300 mirror now.
Your choice of the vintage-baroque style is spot on !
So elegant. Definitely inspirational. 🙂
My daughter would like a full lentgth mirror for her dressing room.
Guess I should look into the wood u bend for ideas.
I fear tho… that you make this look easier. But, maybe I’ll actually try this !
Thank you!! So glad you like it. I’m really pleased with the way it came together as well. I wish you lived closer, I would give you the other mirrored closet panel so you could make one for your daughter. The Woodubend is very forgiving and EASY to work with.
Wowza! That’s gorgeous.
Thanks so much Cyndel! I’m really pleased how it came together as well… and even more please I saved $300+ dollars.😆