Master Bath Sweat Equity

I picked up this mirror for $2 at a yard sale knowing I could transform it for the master bathroom.

I removed the middle pieces of trim.

Then had my dad add some molding we had left over from our addition to beef up the frame.

I painted it all and sanded the edges a bit.  Then I used a rag and wiped dark walnut stain over the entire piece before wiping it off.

Not bad for $2.  It will hang on the wall in our new master bath. (We're still under construction)

Everything we did in our addition was done on a budget but not cheaply.  We bought two unfinished oak cabinetry pieces at home depot for a reasonable price  About two weeks later I was in HD making a return when I noticed all of the unfinished oak cabinets were on clearence.  I had the receipt from our purchase in my purse and asked the lady at customer service if I she could refund me the difference since I had bought them two weeks prior.  She did.  I got $80 back.  Whoo-hoooo.

These were buggers to finish.  Let me tell you it was a loooong process. I sanded the heck out of the unfinished oak and it was as smooth as a babies bottom. Then I primed with Kilz primer. I got a good thick primer. After I primed, little slivers of wood stuck out everywhere. I couldn't believe it. Is that typical of unfinished wood??? So I sanded them all again. Smooth as can be and primed again. Still a little rough but I painted them anyway. Then I randomly sanded along the edges to get a slightly distressed look. I took a rag and rubbed dark walnut stain on the edges and very lightly on the entire piece. The final step was sealing them. If you are sealing a painted piece of white furniture NEVER ever use polyurethane. It will turn your furniture yellow. You must use polycrylic. It's about twice the cost but worth every penny. I love how these look. They turned out exactly like I'd envisioned and was worth all the work.

So here is the BEFORE

And here is the AFTER (before I painted and distressed the frame)

Oh yeah, and the brushed nickel light fixture was from Walmart for $35.

There were similar ones at Home Depot for $70.

I'm linking up at The Inspired Room,  Between Naps on the Porch, Today's Creative Blog, and A Soft Place to Land.