DIY Rub and Buff Gold Mirror

Rub and Buff (used on mirror)// Frog Tape (to tape off the mirror)

Chair// Pillow// Throw

Frame// Similar Prints

Similar Floor Lamp// Pleated Printed Shade

Basket 

I am the least DIY person probably ever. So, please take this tutorial with a grain of salt. However, even I think this was easy and that's really saying something. I had this brown mirror that I bought many years ago from Kirklands. I don't really even shop there much, but I remember just wandering in one afternoon as it is right next to Homegoods. I was moving into my apartment and I needed basically everything. 

In Kirkland's, I found his gigantic mirror and it was marked for $15. It wasn't the look I was going for but the size and price were unbeatable so I went for it. The border is not real wood- it's some sort of MDF. So it's not necessarily the highest quality but the size is just fantastic. Anyway, I brought it up to the counter and it rang up as $150 or something like that. I didn't even ask the sales associate to match it, she just automatically said they would match it and I felt so proud of my find. 

I lived with the brown border on the mirror (see before photo above) for 6+ years and finally, I decided I was going to take matters into my own hands. I bought a little tube of Rub and Buff in the gold leaf shade, taped the mirror's edges with this tape, got an old t-shirt and I just started rubbing the 'paint' onto the mirror. I had never used Rub and Buff before but I Googled around and read some tutorials to make sure I knew what I was doing but it could not have been easier. I didn't need to sand the mirror and I did it right in my office. 

I wanted the mirror to end up looking something similar to a mirror you'd see in Restoration Hardware. The picture you see above was my inspiration and it is almost $3000. 

I am so pleased with the end result. Of course, it doesn't look exactly like the RH mirror and was also not the highest quality in the first place, but this mirror has served me well and this was a fun little project! I honestly could not believe that such a tiny little tube could transform my mirror!