What To Do With An Old Mirror

By Author: Eric Blair
Total Articles: 16
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The frame is broken. The mirror is chipped. The color of the frame no longer shines as it once did. Your mirrors will get old. They will chip, and eventually, they will lose their luster. Instead of ripping them off your wall and sending them into the dumpster, you can reuse your old mirrors and frames for side projects you may be considering doing, or give them to someone with an artistic background. You could repaint, redesign, and even revitalize an old wall mirror, turning it into a new, better looking item than before.

Reuse the Frame

Chances are you’re going to throw away that old mirror and buy a new one to replace it. Before you discard your old mirror, you might want to take apart the frame and reuse it for your next mirror. All you have to do is sand and repaint the frame. If you’re thinking, “No, that just sounds like too much work,” well, go to any online or department store and buy a mirror and frame. Large mirrors can run you a good 50-100 dollars. If you feel like saving 40-50% of the cost, you might want to consider keeping that old frame and using it on your new mirror. You can buy rectangular ...
... or oval shaped wall mirrors without the frames for cheap. Buy the mirror and the frame together and you’re looking at one pretty expensive item.

Design a New Frame for an Old Mirror

Say the shoe is on the other foot, and the mirror is still intact but the frame is no longer usable. If you’re skilled enough working with wood, you can take apart old furniture within your home and design a frame for the mirror. All you have to do is measure the mirror; cut the frame out; and glue the frame to the mirror. That’s the simplified version, but you can find plenty of online guides discussing how to transform old wood furniture into mirror frames.

Make it Into Art

You might be an artistically inclined individual who enjoys working on small side projects. You could take apart a mirror and frame and use both for an art project. Dozens of people use their old mirrors to turn them into side projects; for example, some people break apart a mirror to use as smaller, square fragments for a wall or as mosaic details on a pot. From oval mirrors to round shaped mirrors, any type of old, withering item you no longer want or use can be reworked into something new.