DIY Monday: Krylon Looking Glass Mirror Paint

It's been a while since I first learned about this paint, and it took a little time to find. I wasn't successful finding it at my local craft stores, so I had to order it online. Since it's a little pricey, I have been waiting for the perfect project to try it out.

I changed the quilt on our bed about two months ago and since then I've been looking for the right art to put over our bed - as anyone will tell you I'm of the belief that "white space" is great in an ad, but not something I like in my home. So having a stash of old frames I found one that I think will work with the other things I'm pulling together and tried it out.

First I cleaned the glass thoroughly on both sides. Then, following the instructions I used a well-shaken can to put on the first, thin layer of paint. I shook a little more while I was waiting the directed minute between layers (to let the solvents evaporate) and then sprayed another thin layer. I repeated this 5 times and sure enough on the 5th layer I could see that the paint had pretty much turned opaque by that last layer.

Emerging a little light headed (the smell is very strong), I put the glass in a place where it could safely dry. About 12 hours later, the result is an antique mirror-like finish. I wouldn't say it looks like a new mirror, but there's definitely a reflection that looks a lot like some of the older mirrors I have that have been dulled by time.

I think in the future I may use this paint to spruce up some of the old metal frames I find at estate sales. It's not chrome shiny, but it'll add just the right finish to frames that others may be tempted to just toss. Overall, I think this was worth the time to track down and try!

DIY Monday: Adding light and depth to a room

When I married I moved into my new husband's condo, which presented me with some design challenges. The condo is on the top floor of the building. That meant high ceilings and skylights in most of the rooms without windows. One of my main problems, however, was a dining room with 20+ foot ceilings, no skylight, a 30 year old light fixture and three very, very red walls. That made for a dark room.

I wasn't afraid of red walls. In fact, I'd painted a focal wall in my old house a deep, dark red (that took 9 coats of paint to get the right red). Of course, that house had tons of windows in that room to lighten up the effect. This wall was tall and the space was dark. Luckily, I had a solution.

My solution was to gather all the old mirrors we had between the two of us and use them to reflect the light from a wall of windows on the opposite side of the room thereby creating light in that space and lengthening the space visually. We were lucky, between the two of us, we had a wall full of mirrors. Jason had inherited several from his grandparents and I've always been an advocate of using mirrors to open up spaces. Additionally, we got a bright new chandelier for the space that, when reflecting off the mirrors, makes the room shine with light.

Now, I call my design style "eclectic" - I have friends, however, who call it "cluttered." In short, I like a lot of stuff on the walls. I say that because if you have a dark room problem and like a cleaner look, you'll have to adapt this solution to your own design aesthetic by, for example, using fewer mirrors than I've used. And you don't have to use old mirrors - you can go to the thrift store, find some frames, paint them black, white, gold or silver (whichever you prefer) and have the local glass store fit them with mirrors for you.

However you decide to adapt the idea, it certainly will add depth and light to your room.