Furniture

Painting a mirror with chalkboard paint

I have always hated the gold painted finish on this old mirror I got at Brimfield years ago for about $60. I’ve been meaning to gold leaf it for a long time, but just haven’t had the chance to get around to it. Then this weekend I was just so over the gold. It is…

I have always hated the gold painted finish on this old mirror I got at Brimfield years ago for about $60. I’ve been meaning to gold leaf it for a long time, but just haven’t had the chance to get around to it. Then this weekend I was just so over the gold. It is such a blah color for my entry with the olive leather settee and the beige leopard rug. The space needed some contrast, so on a whim I decided to paint the mirror black.

While I was looking for the quart of black Benjamin Moore Advance, I saw the chalkboard paint and thought the ultra flat finish could be cool looking, sort of a little like this old Anthropologie iron mirror?

I’ve said this a million times, but painting mirrors is the easiest project. Just slap on two or three coats, let it dry and then clean up the mirror with a wet rag. The dried paint wipes right off the glass. If you need a little extra help with the edges, a razor works great.

The color is off in these photos and the black is not quite as washed out. I think I really like it in person though.

I need to touch up some places (chalkboard paint doesn’t cover very well, not surprisingly!).

I think the matte black is a cool look, especially for my entry. If I want the mirror gold again though when we move, it would be easy to leaf right over the black. The color contrast would be great actually, so no harm done.
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43 thoughts on “Painting a mirror with chalkboard paint”

  1. Great update! The matt black has a sort of old world charm to it, doesn't it?

    I've used blackboard paint a few times in the past and I've found putting down a layer of regular black paint first really helps with the streaking/coverage. I know the first time I painted something in blackboard paint, I had to do about 6 coats (!) before it covered fully. With a layer of regular black paint under, only 2 coats – woo!

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  2. Really nice. Kinda edgy with the very matt black look – nice contrast with the mirror and fits in very nicely with the rest of the furniture in the entryway! Great refresh!

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  5. The black really helped define those flowers – they have some incredible detail! Also saw Krissy B's tip about painting in regular black first, glad you didn't have to go through six coats! My!

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  15. Wow! I really like to super flat chalk-board paint finish on the mirror. It looks awesome in contrast to your mustard colored bench! Great job on this!!!

    lemonadeandmasonjars.blogspot.com

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  16. I really like it! I just painted my small pantry doors in Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint and I love it! I didn't paint them to write all over in chalk, but I liked the texture and look of it so I took the plunge! As for the coverage, yea I had to paint quite a few coats and go back again to cover it all! But I only used a quart! Anyways, the mirror looks fantastic!

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  18. It looks great Jenny! I might even lightly chalk the flowers, but it looks fabulous all black too. i jsut painted my whole back hall last weekend in chalkboard paint. I am loving the black…almost dont want to chalk it up at all!

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  24. The mirror turned out great! I wish I had known about the easy to clean paint off mirrors trick! Just a couple of weeks ago, I spent forever taping off an old mirror before painting only to learn I never needed to after the fact.

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  28. I love it! Though the molding on that piece would probably be fabulous no matter what…It'd make a great chinoiserie piece in glossy red!

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  32. Looks good! I wonder what a little gold detail just on the flowers would look like. I have a few matte black mirrors in my house and I love them.

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  34. Such an inventive use of chalkboard paint! Looks great. Thanks for the inspiration – now we have use for the leftover paint from our recent chalkboard project!

    1201north.blogspot.com

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  35. So pretty! I think it'd be beautiful burnished or with a bit of the black sanded off so the gold shows through on the flower detailing :) Such a pretty mirror!

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  40. this is so off the wall…but, what is the brown leather purse that is hanging on your hook? I am searching for the perfect color of brown…and that is it! Oh…and the mirror looks great:)

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  41. Love the black. I thought you could chalk the flowers in and change the colour seasonally, since all it would involve is dusting off the old chalk and applying new. So pink blossom colour for spring, red and orange for autumn. You get the idea.

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