Scavenger Chic

Thrift Store Mirror Makeover with Plaster Lath

• By Joan
• July 21, 2021
• 8 Comments

Thrift Store MIrror Makeover with Plaster Lath

Lately, I’ve been doing several projects with these skinny little plaster lath strips.  What’s not to like?  They’re full of character and they’re like rough pallet wood only thinner.  Once I found out my local architectural salvage yard, Second Chance,  was selling them for 25 cents a piece, I had to have them.  It’s all the joy of pallet wood but without the deconstruction effort.  *Warning*, if you’re a little splinter adverse this may not be the material for you.

I did find a few sellers on Ebay  and Etsy who also sell plaster lath.

My first project with these little gems was my American Flag.  I’m also currently working on a coffee table with the plaster lath as a background.  Not ready to share that one quite yet,  but I was already starting to accumulate a bunch of plaster lath cut offs.  Couldn’t bring myself to toss  the ends , so I bring you a plaster lath mirror makeover.

I didn’t know I was going to make a plaster lath mirror until I found a bunch of these 14 inch mirror rounds at the local thrift store.   I’m thinking that they may have been used as a wedding centerpiece?  I only needed one.

If your local thrift store doesn’t happen to have a 14″ mirror round in stock you can find them at Michaels or Amazon.  FYI, Michaels was cheaper.

I had a mirror,  my plaster lath, the only other ingredient I needed was a tray.  I had picked this one up from a thrift store a couple years ago for a project that never materialized. It was perfect for my upcycled mirror.

I used builders adhesive to glue the mirror to the tray.

Cut a bunch of the plaster lath into varying heights.  These all range from 1 1/2 – 4 1/2 inches.

Sand one end to get rid of the worst of the splinters created from the saw.  The sanded end will be the top.

Start placing the lath around the outside of the tray, staggering heights and overlapping pieces so they appear random.

Once I was happy with my placement I used a nailgun to attach with 1 1/2″ nails.  This length nail went thru 3 of the pieces, not 4, so I was nailing from  both the inside of the tray as well as from the outside making sure to go thru the wood tray.  I would not suggest using a hammer and nails, there are just too many layers to hold in place at one time.  If you don’t have a nailgun, my second choice would be to use a strong glue like E6000 or builders adhesive.

From the side, this is how the pieces line up.

For hanging, I screwed d ring picture hangers into the back making sure to screw into the area of the tray where there was no mirror.

I love how this mirror turned out and that I’m using all my scraps.  Definitely a win / win.

Until next time, stay inspired.

Related posts:

Plaster Lath Rustic American Flag Thrift Store Makeover, Frame for Baby DIY Wall Propagation Station Thrift Store Tray Makeover with Shutter Slats