Scavenger Chic

Inspiration in the Bathroom

• By Joan
• April 28, 2016
• 16 Comments

Inspiration can strike anyone, anywhere.  It’s easy to be inspired on Pinterest with the thousands, if not millions of projects floating around the webosphere. Walking into an antique store gets my mind racing with the possibilities.  As does, browsing online catalogs like Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel,  and Magnolia Market. You never know when you will receive the motivation for that next project.

The motivation for this project?  Why, that came in my sister’s bathroom which always seems to be my first stop whenever I have a chance to visit. How cute is this little shabby chic wall shelf? I did tell my sister that her bathroom was giving me inspiration.

The hunt was on for a medium sized rectangle mirror.  I do like when I have something to look for while shopping the thrift stores instead of just wandering around aimlessly.

After a couple of weeks searching, I finally spy a likely candidate.  The side mirrors are perfect for my project, measuring 34×8 inches.

The mirrors had a nice beveled edge and the wood was beautiful even though the style was somewhat dated.

The price for the 3 piece mirror was $30 which isn’t too bad for 3 mirrors, so don’t be surprised if you see 2 more mirror makeovers in my future.

Unscrewed the piano hinges that held the three piece mirror together and was left with this kind of misshapen frame.

Sawed the excess frame off and sanded the edge smooth.

In my pile of lumber scraps I found this nice trim piece to use as a shelf, though a  1×5 would work just as well.

I used a round paint can to mark a rounded corner then cut with a jigsaw and sanded. I also sanded all the other rough edges of my shelf.

For the sides, I still have a ton of spindles left over from when my brother who donated them to my future project stockpile.  This spindle was cut, then sawed in half to fit flat against the side of the mirror.

My other spindle projects include a bench , legs for a bed tray, dresser drawer side tables,  a bathroom shelf and part of a spindle is even used as a head for my junk angels.

The shelf piece was first treated with a dark walnut stain.

You can see how different the finishes on the 3 pieces of wood are.  At this point I was sooooooo tempted to just paint white over all three and distress a bit like my bathroom inspiration piece.

I fought the urge to cover the beautiful wood of the mirror frame (though I have 2 more mirrors I might just have to paint) and ended up painting them all with a couple of coats of a dark walnut varathane…the kind of finish with the stain and poly in one step.

Wood glue and finishing nails attach the shelf and the spindle to the mirror.

Before attaching the spindle it was trimmed and sanded to have a nice rounded appearance.

Like my inspiration, here I have the display shelf on the bottom.

But there is no reason the shelf couldn’t be flipped over and the display would be on top.

Next time you use someone’s bathroom you may want to take your camera, you never know when inspiration will strike.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Stay inspired.

Shared at Handmade Hangout Party, Thoughts of Home on Thursday,

Link Party Palooza, DIY Salvaged Junk Projects,

DIY Sunday Showcase, That DIY Party, Amaze me Monday,

Metamorphosis Monday, Inspire me Tuesday, Be Inspired,

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