At long last we have a new mirror up over the mantelpiece.
It's gorgeous. I've mentioned before that I would dearly love a French antique mirror, but the cost of them means that particular type of mirror is out of my reach. I found this really rather good version at 'The Range', at a seriously reasonable price. Such a great shop when you take time to have a thorough look around and look past the tat. This has led me on to a new project - I need to paint the mantelpiece in a similar colour. As soon as I can find a safe paint to use (it is around the fireplace, so I have to make sure it's safe for that), then I will be painting and distressing.
Replacing the existing mirror led to another project that I thought I would share here as it's so sweet and whimsical.
The old mirror (that I called 'The Man Mirror' for it's blokey appearance) would have been stashed in the garage for all eternity, but instead we've fixed it to the garage wall, which edges our front garden. The garage wall faces our house, and has lots of greenery covering it (creeping virgina, roses, various clematis, ivy and honeysuckle).
It adds such a nice touch. It looks as if it's a window, until you suddenly catch sight of yourself in it and realise. The creeping virginia is hanging down, covering most of the mirror.
At Christmas, I have fairy lights scattered amongst the twiggy leaf-less plants on the garage. This year I'll make sure that some of them are low enough to be reflected in the mirror.The ivy growing on the wall will hopefully start to climb over the frame and mirror.
Once the weather gets to it, the frame will soon distress and the mirror will look aged. It's going to look better as it gets older. I thought I'd share this idea, as it's so simple and if you have any old mirrors kicking around that you were thinking of chucking out or just not wanting to use anymore, why not put it on a wall or fence in your garden. You could always paint it first, in a colour to suit you and your garden. It doesn't take long to do and is a good way of reusing something you would otherwise get broken or thrown out.