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Reflecting Change

You may remember our venture through the Vintage Bazaar last year, where we came across this mirror (among a few other items, including my childhood turtle; word):

And then the last time we scoured the flea while visiting family in Cincinnati, we found this guy. Okay, Scott actually found the mirror (while I was still eyeing the wares at the previous booth) and hunted down the vendor with four dollars in hand. I can’t say it enough – I seriously scored in the man department.

Well, our mirror addiction all sort of led to this massive cluster of gaudy gold in the office (and by gaudy I mean awesome). But frames leaned on top of mirrors on top of sideboards against a too-high book pile? Aye.

Time for an overdue change. I took all our stuff off the sideboard, called in Scott for a second eye, and we decided on a wall arrangement of mirrors. Not to mention, this was also a fine time to wipe up all that old dust and smudgey fingerprints.

First seen here on Pinterest, I snagged a tip that saved me a lot of time, measuring, and (goodness knows) frustration. I took a paint stirrer and a screw from the Grandpa Jar and made my fancy pantsy tool:

Then used the head of the screw to grab my wire. While I should have asked for help with the heavier mirrors (aka, the “real” ones with ca-razy frames that add five pounds), I sweated through it myself (not recommended), but of course asked Scott to model this example:

I used the paint stick to find my placement on the wall (surprise, surprise, eyeballing worked for me!), and pushed the frame in. The sharp tip of the screw leaves a teeny hole, which acts as a guide for your nail or anchor. Genius.

(And for those who’ve noticed, yup, there is an outfit change. Lately it seems as though many of our projects happen slowly – easily over the course of a few days – therefore, many tops and tees. I blame summer for the slow moe in me.)

I did this one by one, using anchors for each one (again, for those weighty guys), until my wall turned into this:

I also took this opportunity to rearrange the monstrous stack of books – stashing some on our underused book shelves, but keeping a few familiar favorites out on display.

Considering we lived with ol’ Crazy Stacks for months, the entire project took less than 15 minutes. Here’s how we’re hanging in the office these days, literally, you know, with the mounted bikes and all. (Oh, hi, wedding wheel!):

I also switched out the blue bubble lamp for this smaller one that formally sat atop our console in the foyer. The glass base and antique shape seemed to be a better fit for our ornate frames. Blue took a hike to our basement storage; he’ll have to come out for another time.

While the wide angle lens I used to shoot some of these photos may make that corner appear cluttered (oh, I cringe at that word!), I assure you that it does not in, um, real life. After all, beyond my Grandma’s mustard chair (just to the right and out of frame) is the end of the room and where Scott’s bitty closet begins. We dabbled in our collection possibly growing over the chair and along that wall, but patience! (And hey, I’m talking to me there.) I (and apparently Scott, too) am always on the hunt for big, honking mirrors amd frames and generally anything that glitters. Our wall will grow in due time.

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  • Loren9.8.11 - 9:49 AM

    This looks fantastic. I am still not quite on board with the ‘decorating with mirrors’ thing, but the sharp contrast against the dark blue wall is changing my mind.ReplyCancel

  • Kate9.8.11 - 9:49 AM

    I love it! I always see mirrors like that at thrift stores, etc. and I never pick them up because I’m not sure how they’d look in my house. This is making me kick myself for not getting them though, this look so great!ReplyCancel

  • Danielle9.8.11 - 10:25 AM

    O wow!!! What an impact they make all put together. And they also go great with the wall color!!ReplyCancel

  • ktmade9.8.11 - 10:35 AM

    That is absolutely brilliant.ReplyCancel

  • aleksandra9.8.11 - 12:43 PM

    yup, yup, looks awesome. not that i am surprised. i love that paint stirrer hanging trick. i always mess up mirrors and paintings. this is genius!
    also, as an aside– we have those grey and orange flor tiles in our kitchen!ReplyCancel

  • I think it’s great! Then again, I expect nothing but greatness from you. :) Keep an eye out for gaudy gold and your wall to wall mirror dream will come true.ReplyCancel

  • love it! i am doing a ‘mirror collage’ over my couch, but i’m waiting for a mirror on backorder–in the meantime, this gives me hope that my plan will work! also, the hanging tip is genius! seems easier and quicker than my painters tap method.ReplyCancel

  • Monique9.8.11 - 3:35 PM

    Beautiful arrangement. I’ve never seen the paint stick tip before and it makes hanging photos or whatever so much easier. The pic of your dog looking into the mirror…sooo sweet.ReplyCancel

  • Rachael9.8.11 - 5:31 PM

    Love the gold on navy look, the mirrors look awesome! I have to ask, what flea market did you get it from? I live in Cincinnati and have always been afraid to tackle the flea markets, but I’m thinking I may have to now.ReplyCancel

  • Kim9.8.11 - 6:01 PM

    Hi Rachael, we love the Kellogg Flea Market in Cincinnati! It’s full of treasures if you’re willing to go on the hunt… Better hurry before the season is over! We’ve talked about it right here:

    https://yellowbrickhome.com/2010/06/11/follow-us-to-the-flea/

    Good luck!ReplyCancel

  • courtneyoutloud9.9.11 - 11:06 AM

    I love gold frames! I am actually going to look for them today to add to my collection. And I love the vignette you created!ReplyCancel

  • Terese9.9.11 - 2:25 PM

    what a great tip for hanging frames…i’m definitely bookmarking it! thanks :)ReplyCancel

  • Chris Newald9.12.11 - 2:12 PM

    I’ve always been a big fan of gallery walls for their robustness and personalisation, but this is a great twist on one. I never thought to use mirrors to spruce up an apartment like this. Great idea and a fantastic post.ReplyCancel

  • Meredith2.18.12 - 9:23 AM

    What color are the walls? They are beautiful!ReplyCancel

  • Kim2.18.12 - 11:28 AM

    Hi Meredith, the blue color is Distance by Behr, and the soft gray is Silver Screen by Behr. We’ve actually just repainted over those colors, but we do love that blue!ReplyCancel

  • […] On Pinterest I found a mirror hanging trick.  It’s similar to how I mark anchor placement when fixing wood to drywall and don’t […]ReplyCancel

  • Paula2.26.13 - 3:21 AM

    This is amazing. They look really great together even though they don’t have exactly the same style.ReplyCancel

  • […] My “magic tool” (a paint stirrer plus screw!) […]ReplyCancel

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