Mirror Gallery Wall from Thrifted Frames
A couple of tricks for hanging the perfect mirror gallery wall plus ideas for a traditional meets modern eclectic dining room.
This has been one of those projects that I was so intimidated to attempt it just sat in storage until I could muster up the gumption to make it happen.
If you peeked at my messy house tour in my Instagram Stories oh… two months ago, you might have seen my big collection of antique mirrors I’d been hoarding since September.
Aren’t they beauts?!
(Some affiliate links are provided in this post.)
A couple came from eBay, a few came from the thrift store, and a couple were brand new just because I discovered they fit in perfectly with the old ones. (These pictured above are just some of the old ones though.)
I pulled this one out just in time for Trash to Treasure Transformation Tuesday. (You can see my thrifty blogger friends’ before and afters at the end of this post.)
After I gave our secondhand dining table a makeover in the fall, the rest of this room sat with nothing on the walls until now. I envisioned a big beautiful gallery wall of ornate antique mirrors, but I couldn’t really wrap my head around this one for the longest time to figure out the best way to hang them up.
Eclectic gallery walls are fickle things. They have to be symmetrical but not look too intentional. They have to look collected but not too polished. They have to have lots of pieces without looking too chaotic.
So I pulled out my usual gallery wall creating trick. Even though it’s always kind of a pain, cutting out all of the frames on shipping paper and taping them to the wall is totally worth it. I always mark exactly where the nail holes are on the paper too so I can just drive a nail or screw right through the paper to eliminate any accidental holes in the wall.
 
My mom came over for a girls’ hang out day for this one and we pondered over this thing for a couple of hours before getting it right, untaping and moving around all of those paper pieces in different positions. And she reminded me of a trick that I totally forgot about.
Whenever you feel stumped, take a picture of your space and look at the photo. Whatever seems “off” in the room always jumps right out at you when you look at it in the photo. Never fails.
Now, our dining room looks much more polished, but in an eclectic sort of way.
It’s soooo dramatic against those charcoal walls.
(I never would have thought my style would transform into this based on the farmhousey vibe of our last house. It’s just further proof to me that letting our homes “speak” to us is always a chance to discover more about ourselves.)
Right now, I have a console table underneath the mirrors that I found in a consignment shop a couple of years ago and painted to look like wood. I can’t decide if I need a longer table there or not.
And even though the chandelier looks nice in photos, in person, the beads are dirty and a bit cheap looking. It just doesn’t make my heart sing. So next step will be the chandelier.
We might eventually add molding below the chair rail too.
As for the other side of the room, I found the perfect piece of abstract landscape art that ties together all of the shades in the room. (I shared some of my favorite abstract acrylic art the other day, if you’ve been on the hunt.)
It reminds me of summertime with that soft blue sky, which I am just desperate for right now. This Carolina girl can only take so much cold, gray winter weather.
This dining room has come SUCH a long way since last spring.
Here is the budget breakdown so far along with sources:
- Wall paint: Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal – $48
- Trim paint: Benjamin Moore Simply White – $48
- Dining Table – $100 (Facebook marketplace find)
- Slipcovered Dining Chairs – $284.80 for 4 (bought on sale for 20% off)
- Rattan Dining Chairs – $276 for 2 (bought on sale for 40% off)
- Bleached Jute Rug 6×9 – $136 (bought on sale)
- Abstract Landscape Painting – $179
- Console Table – $160 (Consignment shop find)
- Curtains – $50 for 2 pairs
- Curtain Rods– $52 for 2
- Wide antique mirror – $115 (eBay)
- Tall rectangular mirror- $75 (thrift store)
- Large oval mirror – $98
- Medium antique oval mirror – $60 (eBay)
- Small iron oval mirror – $150
- Extra small scroll oval mirror – $16 (thrift store)
- Etched rectangular vintage mirror – $40 (thrift store)
- Small rectangular mirror – $10 (thrift store)
Total: $1,613
Considering that accounts for all of the furniture, that’s not too shabby.
I’m SO excited that we actually get to have Easter dinner in here in another month-ish and that it’s no longer an empty room where we just dumped all of our moving boxes.
Progress makes perfect. Scratch that. This house will never really be perfect. But I don’t really want it to be. That’s what makes the journey so fun.
You can check out the rest of this month’s Trash to Treasure Tuesday blogger projects below:
(Clockwise from top left):
Prodigal Pieces | Artsy Chicks Rule | Confessions of a Serial DIYer | Girl in the Garage
As soon as I read the title and saw the mirrors, I asked myself – Hmm, wonder if she’s painting those with her new classic styled house? Well, I was wonderfully surprised that you didn’t! I love them. Would have loved them no matter what you chose to do but they look beautiful up there just like that. Seriously so pretty.
I really, really love this. Beautiful!
Just beautiful. I saw the Instagram peek and it was so stunning. Your home is truly becoming a “showpiece “. How exciting to host Easter dinner!
Congratulations on getting the gallery wall perfect!!
You really found some wonderful mirrors!! It came together beautifully!
I love the mirror wall! I have a ginormous antique mirror hanging in my dining room but the rest of the wall is bare. You’ve given me the idea to look for other mirrors to surround it with. Thanks for the tip on using paper to figure out how to place the pieces. Your dining room looks great and even though I love the farmhouse style look, I’m glad to see someone step out of the box and decorate with a different style!
This looks so awesome! I love those mirrors. They really add a huge pop to the room.
Beautiful mirror gallery wall and thank you for sharing
LOve the vintage mirrors and they look great on the dark wall.
Love! So pretty!
The wall looks stunning! I love the character antique pieces give to a space and you and your mom nailed the placement. Love the idea of making patterns of the mirrors. Thank you for the tip! 🙂
I love your mirror wall ! Thank you for the tip on using the paper to figure out placement. I have a gallery wall that I need to change up and I will definitely use your trick. When you mentioned using a photo it reminded me of a trick I learned in art class on how to check for symmetry. We would turn the canvas upside down and immediately spot the error. I would think the same could be done with the photo.
I am anxious to see what you will be doing with your chandelier as I have been trying to decide how to change mine up too! Thank you for sharing. I love Trash To Treasure Tuesday!
I love this mirror look! Did it take you a long time to find your older mirrors? I really love the top long one. I would love to find one like that.
I thought if you were to use the metallic rub in brass/gold on your chandi and just buy new crystals, it would look awesome!
I love the wall, Lauren! I’ve been waiting to see what you would do with a mirror gallery wall and you did NOT disappoint! Sooo pretty! And I love that picture!! Win win!! Have a wonderful Easter Dinner!!
Your dinning room turned out beautifully. I love the picture. The mirror wall looks amazing. Keep letting it speak to you, you might decide you need a bigger console table. I’m looking forwarding to seeing your next project. 🙂
Just STUNNING! I am in love with them on the rich wall color!
Your wall turned out beautifully, Lauren! I have been hoarding several mirrors myself, but they are mostly oval. You found some beauties! XO
I totally agree with you…. those mirrors on the charcoal wall is beautiful and molding would be a perfect add!!! It’s beautiful and I know y’all will enjoy it for many family occasions ?
Joy
I so love that top rectangle mirror! I’m a less is more kinda gal, so gallery walls aren’t my thing, but yours looks very nice. Love the tip of taping up paper first. We do that with painters tape for large artwork on walls, so paper would work just as well too. You didn’t say, and I’m thinking you left all the frames as is? Or did you paint them or buy them matching?
You are speaking to my heart. This gal has a thing for mirrors and so love what you did, Lauren.
I love that wall Lauren! It looks so good filled in with the mirrors. You guys always have a great knack for making it work– all the time!:)