In this post I’ll show you how I turned a $17 thrifted mirror into a dupe of a super expensive Anthropologie mirror. Spoiler: it’s incredibly easy!! This Anthropologie Mirror Dupe is sure to be your next project!
I joined a group of friends on Instagram to do easy holiday DIY crafts and I jumped at the chance to finally try the Anthropologie mirror dupe!!
I found the perfect mirror at the local Restore – it was large and it was only $17! I couldn’t believe it!
First, let’s talk about the look I’m going for:
Obviously it’s not going to be 100%, but to save over $750 I’m ok with that!
Gathering the materials
First, I found a mirror at my local Restore. Ideally, I would have liked to have found a rounded mirror. The closest thing they had to a rounded mirror was over $100 so that was a no.
The one I grabbed was only $17 and was very large (and very heavy) so for the size and the price, I was happy! If you don’t have access to a thrift store mirror, you could also consider an inexpensive mirror like this one!
Next I grabbed some wooden appliqués from both Hobby Lobby and Home Depot. Hobby Lobby was 50% the wood department so I just grabbed a bunch of them, ranging from under $2 to around $3 each after the discount. They didn’t have any that I felt were large enough so I stopped by Home Depot and found a much larger wood appliqué and ones that I thought would be nice for the corners.
Between the wooden appliqués and the mirror, it cost under $50 and I planned to use gold spray paint that I already had.
I did also purchase a heavy duty wall art hanger that holds up to 100lbs. The mirror is very heavy so I want it to be nice and secured to the wall. That cost around $10.
Prepping the design of the mirror
To start this project I simply laid out the mirror and cleaned it off. If you have it, you can use liquid sandpaper to degrease the frame if you want. I didn’t do this step and it was fine. The mirror won’t be handled too often (if it all) it’s just hanging on the wall.
I also did not sand or prime the mirror frame either. The one I picked had a wooden frame.
I opened and laid out the wooden appliqués and played around with how they were positioned until I was happy. It’s a big mirror so I wanted enough so that it didn’t look bare but not too much that it was overly busy.
Once I was happy with the positioning of the wooden appliqués, I glued them to the mirror using Rapid Fuse super glue.
To make extra sure they were on, I used my nail gun to put a couple nails in the bigappliqué on top and the one on the bottom in the center. The rest of them are not nailed at all, just glued.
Want to save this tutorial for later? Pin it to your favorite pinterest board!
Painting the Mirror
I used spray paint in the color of Gold Leaf by Krylon.
I didn’t even tape off the glass, I used a piece of scrap cardboard to try to block most of the overspray and then I used these paint remover wipes to wipe the overspray while it was still wet. These wipes are a lifesaver and I use them often!
You can certainly tape off the glass or use a masking liquid if you want to!
The mistake I made here that you can learn from was that I didn’t spray paint the back of the wooden appliqués before super gluing them to the mirror so when it was hung, you could see the bare wood in the reflection. It was a pain but I was able to get behind them with some rub and buff but it wasn’t easy!
Speaking of rub and buff, I applied a little bit around the mirror once hung on the wall to add some character to gold frame and to touch up any spots that may not have been 100% dry when I impatiently hung it on my wall.
Overall, I’d say this dupe DIY was a success!! it looks great styled with my DIY art ledge!
Source list:
- Mirror (thrifted- but you can always get a cheap Walmart one if your thrift store doesn’t have anything good!)
- Gold leaf spray paint
- wooden appliqué (large top center)
- wooden appliqué (corner)
- Rapid fuse super glue
- Picture hanger
If you like this DIY and want to learn more about the DIY art ledge I built, you can check out this post here!
I did this project on Instagram in my stories, if you want to watch the whole process, you can follow me there and check out the highlight titled “Art Ledge” – it includes both the art ledge and how I made all of the art (including this mirror)!! Enjoy!!