Young House Love

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How To Paint A Mirror

The deed is done. Everyone on Team Paint The Mirror White (not to be confused with Team Edward, which I’m totally a member of) can rejoice. Our mirror above the sink went from this:

BathMirror Middle

To this:

White Mirror 1

And I guess we should show how it originally looked when we moved in for the full before:

BathMirror Before

But back to the white paint choice. After much thought (and a decent amount of flip-flopping) we decided to go with our first instinct and paint the mirror white to match the trim. It definitely looks integrated and a bit less heavy, so the nook is now a little less look-at-me-right-now distinct (which is a good thing since we’re trying to make it blend in as opposed to stand out). Now it looks as if it’s always been there, and it’s not too high contrast to draw all attention to the sink nook.

White Mirror 2

So my apologies to all other teams (like: Leave It Black, Paint It Gray, Paint It Teal, Paint It Yellow, Paint It Gold, Paint The Molding Black, and Paint The Vanity Black). We definitely considered all possibilities and there’s certainly more than one way to skin this cat (gross expression, sorry). All of those options probably would have worked, but in the end it just had to come down to good old fashioned personal preference. And you know we love us some white…

White Mirror 3

Speaking of white, here’s how we got the look: Behr’s Premium Plus Paint (the can of paint with primer & paint in one) in off-the-shelf white in a semi-gloss finish. I just brushed on four thin and even coats with a paint brush. I did this instead of spray priming and spray painting it (which we’d usually recommend, and would also work swimmingly) because the Behr primer/paint stuff is low-VOC and spray paint isn’t. Thankfully it worked like a charm. Oh and I used a straight razor to scrape the paint off the surface of the mirror for a nice clean result.

And for those who like contrast, don’t blow a gasket. Here’s what it looks like at night:

White Mirror 4

We actually LOVE that going with white was the bold choice at night since we spend a lot of not-day time in the bedroom, and the white frame totally pops out from that black background out the window for awesome at-night drama that we can enjoy before heading off to sleep. Back when it was black it practically disappeared at night.

And look, here I am:

White Mirror 5

Stop the presses. My hair is down. Can you believe it? I know. Shocking stuff. After many many requests, there you have it. It’s like a ponytail but different. For actual video footage of me with my hair down (and a whole bunch of it’s-Friday giddiness) check out this Texas road trip video of yore. That trip was thebomb.com. For reals.

Oh and although there are a ton of Team Frost The Windows peeps out there, we’re leaving them bare for now. Just because we like looking out ’em when we’re tooth brushing in the morning. Sometimes we spot a robin or two at the bird feeder. Shucks, that’s quaint. So even though they look frosted in a few of the photos, they’re not.

And for those wondering what things look like from the neighbor’s perspective (it’s a side window), since we live on almost an acre of land, we’re pretty far apart apart. But here’s what it looks like during the day from about a fifth of the distance between our houses:

Outside Mirror Light

Yup, it’s invisible (most exterior windows are reflective during the day, and ours is no exception). We even took the shot above with the bathroom light on to hopefully highlight the silhouette but all you see are the sky and some tree branches reflecting on the window panes during the day.

And here’s what it looks like at night:

Outside Mirror Dark

So not bad right? I mean, we have 99 curb appeals problems, but the mirror ain’t one. Yes, that’s a reference to 99 Problems by Jay Z. Because I’m gangsta like that.

Psst- Why Team Edward and not Jacob? Even though I’m from Jersey, tan juice-head body-builders have never been my type. As demonstrated by my tall, angular, and sometimes pale hubby. Does it make me insane to admit that the whole time I read Twilight, I actually pictured John as Edward? Remember this was before the world had been introduced to Robert Pattinson.

Psssssst- To everyone worried about if I could reach the buttons on the dryer, we updated that post with a pic of me in action. Go Team Five Foot Two Inches!

Comments

  1. KarenC says

    btw…. is it weird that everytime y’all make a change, I wonder what the previous owners would think. LOL

    I’ll bet they’re reading your blog and saying “Now why didn’t WE think of that?”

    Reply

  2. stephanie says

    I’m not going to lie…I always wondered if you ever wore your hair down. That part of the post totally made me laugh. Great choice with the mirror; it looks great!

    Reply

  4. Jennifer says

    I think it looks great in the white. Very cohesive. The night time looks really neat too with the contrast.

    You know what would look fun, if you used a furry white throw as a rug in the front. Subtle, yet softening and probably feels oh so great under the feet. BUT, it is your bathroom and not mine :) so have fun with whatever you two choose!

    Although, it’s funny, I think the day time picture looks more appropriate with a fuzzy rug, but the night not so much. Ah, the reality vs pictures and true color!

    Reply

  5. Lindsey says

    Sherry, do you think you’ll swap out the knobs and hinges on the cabinets? The dark color looks a little heavy and lovely ceramic or glass knobs could lighten everything up, as could nickle or white hinges.

    Reply

  13. Jillian says

    Hey, I’m a member of Team Five Foot Two Inches! Woohoo!!

    Love the mirror painted white. It was a great decision (as usual).

    Reply

  19. Sara @ House Bella says

    I like it white, and Sherry, your hair! I love it! We have used Behr Ultra Premium quite a bit in our house, and I have to say, I adore it. Really great coverage, nice finishes, and durable (so far).

    Reply

  24. Courtney says

    Looks awesome! It really looks integrated now and the touch of black in the knobs and counter keep the room grounded.

    All of your painting projects have really inspired me but I’ll have to wait until summer because no way am I standing out in my (detached) garage painting furniture when it’s -25 C! Brrrr…

    Reply

  26. Briel K. says

    The mirror looks great. I like how it doesn’t stand out as much now.

    That is too funny how people thought you wouldn’t be able to reach the dryer buttons. Cute pics Sherry! :)

    Reply

  28. Caitlin @ Desert Domicile says

    LOVE the white! It looks so clean and crisp :)

    Just curious: do you have any plans to update the vanity’s hardware? The black knobs are nice but with everything being so white, I’m noticing that my eye is really drawn to them now.

    Reply

  30. Angela S. says

    Okay, I was Team Grey but now that I see how well the mirror goes with the rest of the room when painted white, I gotta say white really was the way to go.

    Just goes to show that “I wouldn’t have done it that way” can sometimes turn into “oh, geez it looks so much better your way than my way”!

    Reply

  32. Kate says

    Okay, so clearly I’m not up with my pop culture references, because at first I was thinking your “Team Edward” comment had something to do with Ed the Bed and I thought I’d missed something!!

    Reply

  37. Erin N says

    Oh my goodness – I LOVE it!!! I think it fits in a lot better now, and looks less like you hung a mirror over a window and more like it was meant to be there. Awesome idea!

    Reply

  42. em says

    Looks great. I was on ‘Team Leave it Black’, but now I’ve switched sides. Now I’m on ‘Team the Night Shot Looks Sooooo Cool, I Think You Should Paint the Window Glass Black’. :)

    Reply

  45. Tiffany says

    All I can say is wow!!! The change is amazing. I really didn’t like the before but I didn’t want to be rude. With the walls and the mirror and the white trim. It’s all amazing!!

    Reply

  46. Kimberly L. says

    Looks great! Question – does the no (or low) VOC really make a difference with the paint smell?? We have a baby girl about a month older than Clara, and I would love to start painting our new house, but the paint my husband is insisting on using (Sherwin Williams)stinks, so we are waiting until we can open the windows again (and even then I will send her to my parents for a day or 2 until the smell goes away). I am trying to convince him to use a no-voc paint, but he is saying it won’t coat our currently gold walls well enough…help me convince him!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Kimberly,

      The no-VOC stuff hardly smells during painting and has no scent after it dries at all. The low-VOC stuff (especially what we used on the mirror) does have a bit of a paint smell while you use it, but also is pretty odorless as soon as it dries. As for no-VOC coverage, two coats of it are just as amazing as the high VOC stuff. We use it to paint our walls and love Olympic’s No-VOC Premium paint- and it’s not any more money than the high VOC stuff.

      xo,
      s

  47. Paige says

    Oh, Sherry! Team Edward? I follow your logic with the whole John-looks-like-a-vampire thing, but Edward is also a crazy stalker. He broke into Bella’s house and watched her sleep. For months. Is that normal behavior?

    You should come join me on Team Carlisle. (I’m not a fan of tan gym rats, either.)

    Reply

  48. Laura says

    I’m late to the whole Twilight bandwagon and just finished the third book. Cannot wait to read the fourth. And I’m with you, Team Edward all the way.

    The mirror looks great white!

    Reply

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