I painted this mirror in the garden in beautiful sunshine, being careful not to blind myself with the reflection from the sun. As it is September already, every day of sunshine feels like a complete bonus.
The first thing was to mask the mirror using low tack tape, before beginning to paint. In my excitement to see what it looked like, I removed the tape after the first coat of paint and then had to re-tape it for the second coat!
I painted over the dull gilt frame with a coat of Annie Sloan’s Country Grey Chalk paint. Using a hog hair bristle brush, I then added a layer of Pure , but I applied it in a very rough, dry brush technique, so that lots of the Country Grey still shows through. The trick here is not to be too uniform in the application. Some areas have more of the white paint than others, leaving more of the Country Grey showing through in other areas. This creates a gorgeous faded, distressed effect. I haven’t waxed this piece because it will receive very little handling and so doesn’t need the protection of the wax. The finish is a lovely matt, chalky texture, just like it says on the tin!
In time, some of the paint will chip off to reveal bits of gilt beneath, but I am going to let that happen naturally.
I love this piece and it would look fantastic in my bathroom, but again, I am going to be strict, this one’s for the shop!
Decorate Decorate 