I recently added a powder room to my home. When I designed it, I wanted the space, small as it was, to be something special. I love doing closets with interesting details and style, and in my opinion, this powder room was just like a bigger closet.
Tour these stylish closets in my home:
• Pantry
• Linen Closet
• Tool Closet
One of the elements I added to the powder room to give it a WOW factor was antiquing the mirror tiles I found from Ikea. Because, you know, just hanging a plain old framed mirror just wasn’t gonna cut it! Here is my detailed guide of how to make mirrors look antique.
Supply List
• 12×12 Mirror tiles
• Paint stripper
• Muriatic acid, transferred to a spray bottle
• Rubber gloves
• Face mask
• Goggles
• Paint scraper
• Drop cloths
• Rags
• Metallic black spray paint
• Gold spray paint
• Matte black spray paint
Step-by-Step
IMPORTANT NOTE: Working with harsh chemicals such as paint stripper and muriatic acid can be very dangerous. Make sure to wear protective gloves, goggles and a face mask at all times. And only work in a highly-ventilated environment, preferably outdoors. Keep water nearby in case you spill any chemicals on your self.
Step 1
Pour a thick layer of paint stripper on the back of the mirror tile. It needs to be a thick layer in order to react to the paint.
Step 2
Wait a few minutes for the stripper to soak into the paint. Then, using a plastic paint scraper, scrape away the paint from the back of the mirror tile. You might need to repeat Step 1 if there are any areas of the tile where the paint didn’t come off. BEWARE: This is a messy step!
Step 3
You should now have a glass tile that is mirrored on both sides, but only work on the side where you stripped the paint. Next, lightly mist muriatic acid onto the tile. Start with light sprays to see how you like the effect. If you want more “antiquing”, then spray more acid, but build up the layers of spraying as you go! You don’t want to end up with a tile that’s been over-antiqued. The acid will eat away at the mirror finish immediately. Mop up the acid with a rag to see the results. You have “holes” in the mirror where you just see clear glass.
DESIGN TIP: Make it look authentic by keeping the spraying heavier around the edges of the tile.
Step 4
If you want the gold to be more visible in the mirror, apply a light layer of the gold spray paint first. If you prefer the metallic black to be more visible, then start with that.
Step 5
After the gold paint is dry, spray on a light layer of the metallic black paint. The black drops of paint you see in this photo were caused by spraying the aerosol with rubber gloves on. So, learn this mistake from me: Don’t spray paint wearing any gloves.
Step 6
[NO PHOTO] After the metallic black has dried and you like the effects you see on the “right” side, finish off the tile with matte black spray paint. This is an optional step, but I found it was nice to give the mirror a proper backing and the black helped to cover up any holes that may have been missed in Step 4 and Step 5.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
X
Total Cost for 15 Mirrors: Mirrors x 4 sets ($40.50) + Muriatic Acid ($5) + Spray Paints x 2 cans each color ($45) + Paint Stripper x 2 cans, etc ($20) = $110.50
X
Total Time: Each tile took about 30 minutes from start to finish; not including dry time.
See these antiqued mirror tiles installed in the powder room:
I’ve linked up this project at these parties here.
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