DIY designer mirrors and frames. DIY mirror frame: design methods from various types of material Creative frames for mirrors

You can imagine a living room or hallway without paintings, vases, figurines and other artsy accessories, but without a mirror - no way! Indeed, this item is necessary in any home, not only to look at your reflection, but also to decorate the surroundings. Often factory mirrors look faceless, unable to reflect the individuality of the room.

Fortunately, an outstanding do-it-yourself mirror decor helps to solve the problem of facelessness. Let's look at the most unusual ways of decorating.

3 tricks for aging a mirror

The mirror with a touch of antiquity looks solemn and tasteful. Naturally, such an item is in perfect harmony with the classic or vintage style - in a modern setting, it looks lurid. How to create the effect of artificial aging at home?

Reception 1 - chemical etching. To form a plaque, it is necessary to purchase a tinted or silver base, etched with a chemical composition. The resulting patina does not reduce the reflectivity, so the mirrors retain their versatility.

Reception 2 - eglomise. The decoration of the mirror with the eglomise technique is quite laborious. It involves the imposition of thin sheets of potali with a gold or silver coating on the base. The main advantage of this technique is the ability to insert a photo between layers for greater decorativeness. Such a mirror acts as an independent art object, but its reflectivity is rather low.

Reception 3 - aging with craquelure / acrylic. To achieve the effect of archaism, it is not necessary to process the entire surface of the mirror - it is enough to age the frame with your own hands. To do this, you will need acrylic paints or craquelure varnish. Paint the frame with silver acrylic, and after drying, apply a mixture of blue and green paint to the surface.

Stucco frame ideas

One of the main features of styles such as baroque, empire and retro classic is the use of stucco. The mirror is no exception. For decorating a mirror with your own hands, both a gypsum mixture and plastic are suitable. Stucco elements can be bought or made independently using ready-made molds.

The base frame itself is made from white MDF sheets. After drying, stucco elements are attached to the frame with silicone glue. Then the remaining glue is removed with a sponge, and the finished molding is painted with white (gold, silver) acrylic paint.

Decorating mirrors with moldings

An easier way to make an original mirror frame is to use ready-made moldings / skirting boards. Styrofoam skirting boards are available in a wide variety of variations, imitating more expensive gypsum stucco. To decorate the frame, you will need an MDF sheet protruding beyond the edges of the mirror. Moldings are attached to the protruding part of the plywood. So that the frame does not look cheap, it is covered with acrylic paints; joints are sealed with putty.

DIY wood mirror frame

Nothing looks more harmonious in the interior than wood. In addition to excellent physical characteristics, this material has an aesthetic appeal, which is why it is considered an excellent tool for creating an original do-it-yourself mirror decor. It is customary to frame square and rectangular mirrors with simple wooden borders, but you can experiment with rounded products.

A mirror-sun looks very unusual in any interior. To make it, you will need wooden blocks (twigs of trees), a plywood frame according to the size of the product, a primer, a glue gun, wood glue, spray paint, sandpaper.

First, we lay the blocks with wedges around the perimeter of the frame. To simulate the sun's rays, it is necessary to alternate short and long bars. Apply glue to the frame and hold each branch for 15-20 seconds. After drying, remove the remaining glue with sandpaper, apply a primer from the spray and leave for 1 hour. After that, cover the sun frame with paint or clear varnish.

Instead of sticks, you can use ordinary wooden clothespins. Just a few minutes - and the frame for the mirror is ready!

Screen painting on the mirror

In order to decorate a mirror, you do not need to be an artist or a hand-made master. It is enough to buy stencils and apply them to the canvas. About everything in order.

We apply the finished stencil to the mirror surface, and then carefully glue it with a roller, preventing air from getting under the film. We apply matting paste on the stencil (not on the coated surface), carefully spread it over the entire film and leave it for 15 minutes. After that, the paste should be removed, and the mirror should be washed under running water. Finally, carefully remove the film from the stencil.

And today we want to tell how to make a mirror frame from solid wood and reveal the secret of an interesting aging mixture that can transform this frame in a very original way. In order to make this frame, you do not need to have a lot of complex tools, or unprecedented training in carpentry. Everything is done as simply as in the first two cases, which way is easier to go is up to you.

Materials:

  • large frameless mirror;
  • vinegar;
  • Black tea;
  • brush;
  • sandpaper;
  • L shaped corners;
  • glue;
  • screws;
  • saw.

We measure the dimensions

The best news is that any mirror can be used. The frame is easy to adjust to any size, and this gives us unprecedented flexibility. The first thing you need to do, after measuring the length of the mirror, cut on two boards 2.5 cm thick, on both sides, at 45 degree angles.

Cut corners

Cut off! Since we used a circular saw, a 45 degree angle was not a problem for us, but if you don't have one, then just join the frame at a 90 degree angle (straight cuts).

Trying on

After you cut off the long parts of the frame at an angle, you can bring them to the mirror and try them on.

Measuring short sides

This step is kind of just a double check, but it's a good idea. After placing the long part of the frame on the mirror, measure the length of the top and bottom parts and repeat the above steps.

Gathering together

Even if you have measurement error, all parts will come together beautifully. It remains just to place the mirror in the center behind the frame.

We glue the frame

A small dab of wood glue is a great idea. Since for the best effect you need to clamp each corner for a while, and since we did not have a corner clamp, we approached this process creatively, see the photo below.

We fasten the corners

This simple matter does not require a detailed description, we take more screws and fasten the corners in a circle. After that, you can start grinding our frame with sandpaper.

sly stain

In order to artificially age our frame, we use the old method of stain production. We take steel shavings and add a little vinegar to a glass jar with it. Let this mixture sit for 24 hours. Then we brew steep tea separately, in a separate container.

First, paint the surface of the frame with tea, let it dry, and only then paint with a mixture of vinegar and shavings. Of course, the smell of vinegar is not the most pleasant, so it's better to do it outside.

finished frame

That's all, time will pass and from the pale gray frame, you will get an elegant and beautiful aged brown frame, it will fit into any interior that is suitable in meaning, but most likely such bedrooms as: Toscana, Nostalgia Night, Decor, Torriani will be ideally combined with this mirror frame.

Interesting video.

How to make a veneer mirror frame.

The mirror has been an indispensable attribute of human life for several centuries. It is difficult to imagine an apartment in which it is not there - such a room will be strange, lifeless, devoid of the usual comfort. Mirror decor adds personality to any interior, especially if it is made by hand, and not at a glass factory. They decorate this item in a variety of ways, decorate it in many styles, more details in our master classes on individual techniques made by hand.

Basic rules, principles of decorating mirrors

This direction of design uses all the materials that exist in nature, the industrial world, their waste. The remains of the plinth and saw cut wood, ice cream sticks and plastic utensils, threads and fabric, shells and pebbles, plastic and eggshells, beads and rhinestones, acrylic paints and paper - all this creates a unique, unique decor. Transparent silicone is usually used as an adhesive, and it is applied with a special gun. Silicone exists neutral and acid, they differ in price, setting time. In some cases, PVA glue, "Titan" is used.

There are two decorating techniques:

  • decor outside the mirror - from cardboard, fiberboard, plywood cut out the base of the desired shape, which should be chosen larger than the decoration itself. Decorative elements are glued along the edge, the base is dried, then a mirror is mounted on it, as if inserted into a frame;
  • decorating a mirror surface - glue, along with decorations, is applied directly to the object itself, which allows you to get an "openwork" design.

Industrial decoration of mirror elements is carried out by etching, crackling, engraving, applying colored enamels, lithography, painting, etc.

Mirror decoration options

There are a lot of decor ideas suitable for different styles, here are just a few of them:

  • for the loft style, the frame for the mirror is made from the remnants of the laminate, pieces of brick;
  • in the interior of a marine style, it is decorated with sea shells, flat pebbles;
  • for ethnic - the frame is woven from straw, decorated with dry flowers, varnished, dry cane tubes;
  • in Provence, linen light fabric, ropes are used;
  • an embroidered picture can become a decoration for a mirror in a classic style;
  • the industrial interior is decorated with colored broken glass, plastic spoons and forks;
  • for art, believe me, the mirror will be perfectly shaped with tubes of colored paper;
  • a frame for a high-tech mirror, mounted from pieces of chrome-plated metal, tubes, bolts.

Paper sticks or tubes

Paper, one way or another, is in every home. For the decoration of mirrors are most often used:

  • glossy magazines - they do not even have to be painted;
  • newspapers;
  • cigarette paper;
  • egg cartons;
  • napkins for decoupage.

To make a frame from tubes, they are twisted from a newspaper, making the desired length and thickness. They are laid out on an unnecessary substrate, painted with acrylic from a can from all sides. After that, glue is applied to the mirror, preferably round, on the back - silicone is bought necessarily neutral, acidic can easily destroy a thin mirror coating. Paper tubes are laid out in the form of a sun, a flower, dried in a horizontal position for a day and a new piece of decor is hung on the wall. For rooms with high humidity, this design is not suitable.

Sometimes, instead of paper tubes, plastic straws, rods from pens are used.

plastic spoons

The larger the mirror, the more spoons you will need. From them you need to cut off the scoops, which will later become the “petals” of the flower mirror, optionally painted in one color or different. Next, a piece of fiberboard, thick cardboard is cut out, the main decoration item is placed in the middle, which should be circled with a pencil, a marker - parts in three or four or more rows are glued between this line and the edge of the frame. The frame is dried, a mirror is glued to the center, a day later it is hung on the wall. Such a mirror will perfectly fit into the interior of a bright modern style bathroom, a romantic bedroom.

If you use the wide part of the forks instead of spoons, the design will be no less interesting, but prickly. In the same technique, a frame is made from buttons, small CDs, details of a children's designer.

Rope

The rope, the lace is chosen thicker, a real rope is suitable for a large mirror, a thin but strong twine, paracord is suitable for a small one. The base is cut out of cardboard, fiberboard, glue is applied to it, a lace is laid out round by round. The mirror can be glued at the very beginning, then a rope can be glued around it. For minimalism, they use a bright, not too textured rope, for a traditional one - linen.

If you use threads, ropes of different colors, you get a "rainbow", striped frame.

from wood

The wooden frame will fit perfectly into any modern interior, it can be made from:

  • wooden clothespins;
  • chopsticks for Chinese food, from ice cream;
  • oblique wood cuts;
  • rails, planks;
  • branches.

If clothespins can simply be fastened around the perimeter of a thin mirror, then other options will require a little more time and effort. When there is access to woodworking machines, tools, then the profile necessary for a beautiful design is cut out of a solid bar on its own. Wooden planks, slats are bought at a store where everything is available for repairs. In the same place, services for sawing timber are sometimes provided - you can ask that the planks be cut at an angle of a certain length. At home, they will remain to be fastened together, painted, painted by hand, supplemented with carvings. For a figured frame made of wood, you need a jigsaw.

For eco style, a piece of plywood, cardboard is cut out, larger than the mirror itself, which is glued into the middle. Around, on the base, pieces of wood, pegs, sticks, large chips, thin saw cuts of twigs, snags are glued, nailed - the mirror turns out to be, as it were, recessed into the frame. If the decoration item is small, then it can be glued to a large wood saw cut, varnished - it is better that it has bark. When ice cream sticks are used for decoration, they should first be varnished, painted, painted.

A carved wooden frame is suitable for the Baroque style, decorated with snags - oriental, ethnic - decoration of thin twigs intertwined with each other, wooden clothespins with folk patterns.

shells

Shells brought from the sea, "shells" of snails used in the preparation of certain dishes, can become an original element of decor. Most often they are used to decorate a marine-style mirror - then it is hung against the background of photo wallpapers depicting a sea dawn, sunset. Sinks painted with bright colors will fit well into a futuristic interior, modern. Place such a frame most often in the bathroom, in the nursery.

If sea, river, lake shells have lost their color, they are soaked in ordinary bleach, then washed, dried, lubricated with sunflower oil, varnished. Next, a mirror is taken, which has a frame or on a plywood, wooden base. The shells are glued symmetrically, in discord - first large, then, between them, smaller ones. The frame is dried, varnished.

As an addition to shells, many use pearls, beads, beads, beautiful pebbles.

Mosaic, broken dishes

There is no need to rush to throw away broken dishes, especially if they were beautiful “during life” - the pieces are easy to use as decoration.

Usually used:

  • broken colored glass, crystal;
  • fragments of mirrors;
  • pieces of aluminum foil;
  • clay, porcelain shards;
  • broken ceramic tiles.

In the presence of special equipment, glass is cut into pieces of any desired shape. Decorations are glued to a pre-prepared surface according to the required pattern, the voids between the parts are filled with any grout, decorated with pebbles, sparkles, mother-of-pearl.

For the ecological style, clay shards are used, Provence - faience, high-tech hallways are decorated with fragments of audio CDs.

gold leaf

An artificially aged frame is the best decor for a living room, bedroom of an expensive classic interior, pompous baroque and gothic styles.

Options for the "old" design:

  • gilding;
  • bronzing;
  • silvering;
  • patination.

Decorating the frame with gold leaf allows you to create a unique, luxurious item. Susal is the thinnest gold film, which is glued to the surface of an object for decorative purposes. It is produced in the form of squares with a side of 91.5 mm, but there are different thicknesses. For decorating furniture items, the thinnest is used - with a ligature weight of 1-2 grams.

By color, gold leaf is:

  • white - contains palladium, silver;
  • lemon - has a large percentage of silver;
  • green - an alloy of silver and gold;
  • yellow - contains 75% gold, silver, copper;
  • orange - an alloy of copper and silver;
  • red - has a lot of copper in the composition;
  • pure - almost one hundred percent.

The material is sold in notebooks, packs, rolls, lined with tissue paper.
Created gold is produced in the form of a powder, which must be diluted, combined with tinsel.

From materials, tools you will need:

  • wooden frame - best carved, the size of a mirror;
  • gold sheets;
  • glue - mezdrovy, on an oil, alcohol basis;
  • paint for the background - if the gold coating is not continuous.

First, paint is applied to the frame, dried, carefully glued with gold sheets, polished so that there are no seams, and a mirror is fixed in the middle.

If you need to save a lot, instead of sheets of gold, gold leaf is used - a thin foil that looks like gold, but without precious metals in the composition.

Mirror decor

This finish is applied in the form of painting directly on the mirror surface, various stickers on it. You can decorate the wardrobe door in the dressing room, oval, rectangular in the corridor, lobby, plasterboard partition decorated with mirrors.

Of the materials, tools most often used:

  • paints on glass;
  • various stencils;
  • pebbles, beads;
  • beads, sequins;
  • textile, polymer lace;
  • thin, thick brushes.

For the style of minimalism, modern, you should use a mirror without a frame.

transparent stones

In the "stone" decor, certain conditions must be observed:

  • do not place them too close to each other;
  • it is recommended to use pebbles of different sizes, colors;
  • you can lay them out according to pre-made stencils;
  • glue not only along the very edge, but also locally in one or all corners.

A decoration made entirely of identical transparent stones is suitable for a minimalist style. In combination with plastic flowers, plants - a romantic style room, buttons, beads - for eclecticism, avant-garde. The glue is used transparent, it should be applied very carefully, carefully removing excess. Usually a special one is used - for working with glass, rhinestones.

Such pebbles are often sold in stores - individually, in whole sets.

hand-painted decoration

Wall mirrors, glass doors, and a dressing table are decorated with paintings. If you have certain artistic skills, the surface is easily painted with wonderful patterns, using acrylic paints, brushes of various thicknesses.

Most popular topic:

  • New Year's patterns - like on windows in winter;
  • fantastic birds, animals;
  • undersea world;
  • dotted, "Kudrinskaya" painting;
  • geometric figures;
  • vegetable ornaments.

For a mirror in a Provence-style children's room, light colors are used. In the classic bedroom of a teenage girl, surfaces are decorated with flowers in pastel colors, the industrial kitchen is decorated with figures of steel flowers. It will take at least an hour to hand-paint such a plan.

Another way is to paint with dye cans through special stencils. Perforated decoupage napkins are perfect for this role. Napkins are selected rubberized - so that they are easy to remove. They are simply laid out on the surface, and spray paint is applied on top, after which it should be dried for several hours.

When performing fine hand painting, designers recommend using a special contour for working with glass.

Beading

The most "home" interior is obtained by using the design of mirror surfaces with beads. Often it is combined with pictures, cushions, embroidered with beads, glass beads. For a traditional, neoclassical bedroom, this is one of the best solutions.

Beads, beads are ideally selected glass - so that they transmit light well without cluttering the surface too much. The color scheme should fit well into the interior of the room, without creating dissonance with it. You can glue it on a transparent silicone sealant, separating the surface to be decorated with adhesive tape. Separate volumetric elements can be used, made by stringing beads on a wire, fishing line, thread.

Popular topics:

  • sea ​​waves of turquoise and white shades;
  • African, Old Russian ornaments;
  • butterflies, dragonflies;
  • geometric abstractions.

Accents of large transparent beads look great against the background of smaller details.

Do-it-yourself mirror frame from a ceiling plinth

From the materials you will need:

  • furniture plywood;
  • scissors, sharp knife;
  • ruler, pencil, square;
  • glue "Titan", PVA;
  • acrylic dye;
  • clothesline or twine;
  • tissue sponge.

Step by step the frame is done like this:

  • cuts are made at the base, where a strong cord is inserted for hanging the structure;
  • the mirror is glued to plywood;
  • cut the ceiling plinth, carefully working through the corners;
  • their ends are smeared with Titanium glue, pressed tightly against each other;
  • a special primer is applied to the plinth, and when it dries, acrylic paint;
  • further, individual fragments are decorated with gold, silver, bronze paint;
  • from the remains of the rope, lace, a floral ornament is laid out, which is complemented by contour, dot painting, sparkles, rhinestones;
  • As additional elements, any materials at hand that are suitable in style are used. Sandriks, corner pieces, rosettes (they are cut into several parts), fragments of ceiling ornaments, moldings, etc. are also used.

    If possible, the pattern in the corners of the frame should be well chosen - this will turn out much more beautiful.

Of course, every owner dreams of making the interior of his residential building in an interesting unique style that will not be like any other. For these purposes, accessories from famous designers are used, but this will require a considerable amount of money from the family budget.

A completely ordinary do-it-yourself mirror frame will help to complement pieces of furniture, and even surpass many design masterpieces.

It is no secret that a mirror in a home is an important and necessary item, but besides this, it serves as a beautiful component of the interior environment, which will advantageously expand the free area and fill the room with additional lighting.

The mirror surface itself does not attract the eye; the framing itself (frame), made in a unique style, makes it beautiful.

Frames from improvised materials

Even an ordinary old rarity can be reborn and decorated on your own, using the most common improvised items and even products.

For decoration, a variety of food products are advantageously used: dry pasta, coffee grains, peas and cereals. The photo of the frame for the mirror shows a variant of making frames from pasta of various configurations and shapes, which are carefully and properly glued around the entire perimeter.

To perform a certain conceived pattern, it is necessary to evenly distribute them along the entire mirror canvas. In any case, the frame will be individual: both products lined with a certain ornament, and laid out in a chaotic manner.

At the end of the work, it is appropriate to close the product with a cloth (masking tape) and spray spray paint onto the surface.


Skirting for ceilings perfectly imitates wood, and it is much lighter in weight category. It is recommended to start work by fixing the mirror on a plywood sheet or chipboard in order to achieve a more reliable fixation of the fasteners on the wall.

We cut out each side of the frame in the same type of wooden version, correctly aligning the corners. But the size of the inner edge must exactly match the length of the side of the mirror. You can easily connect all the parts with a glue gun.

The effect of an old luxurious piece of furniture will be given by golden paint, which is applied with an ordinary sponge with strokes. This frame will be light in weight and unique in its design.

If there are stucco details in the interior of a residential building, it is wise to use a similar decoration for a mirror. The building materials market offers a wide range of decorations made of plaster or plastic materials, which can later be turned into an amazing picture.

The base should protrude beyond the edge of the canvas and be painted in a light, white, or colored shade. Having fixed the canvas, the stucco molding is fixed along the entire base of the mat with silicone glue.

Mosaic pieces in the interior

This design, most often, is created for a bathroom of absolutely any style, since the fragments left after repair, unnecessary ceramic tiles, serve as the basis for decoration. The main task is the correct selection of the pattern.

The modern minimalist style suggests the presence of complex geometric ornaments, abstraction. Floral motif, plants and grass are appropriate in a rustic interior.

Before making a frame for the mirror, the canvas is mounted on a sheet of wood, and the selected pattern is applied in a circle. Then, with a flat cutter, parts are cut out of the tile, giving them a certain shape and applying them to the frame.

If the initial sketch turned out to be successful, you can safely fix the fragments with adhesive on the frame, then wait for the product to dry completely (maximum one day)


An ordinary mirror without a frame, of course, will not replace an exclusive product in a luxurious frame, moreover, it will favorably emphasize the theme of the interior and its originality!

Photo frames for a mirror