Sunburst In The Dining Room

I've been looking for a round mirror for the stenciled wall in the dining room but have had no such luck. We tried a larger piece of art on that wall but the colors and patterns didn't mesh well with the stencil already there. I needed something dark and pretty solid to stand out against the stencil. I decided a sunburst mirror would fit this space nicely.

I made one for my daughter's room with skewers but knew that one would be too small for this spot. I wanted it to be thick and dark. After seeing several versions, I decided to use paint sticks. They are free and thick enough to make an impact on the wall. I had some in the garage at home but knew I needed way more. I grabbed an arm-full from Home Depot one day while I was out. I also bought a 12 inch round beveled mirror from Hobby Lobby. It was half off candles sale so it came to $4.00. I had the rest of the supplies at home.

Supplies used:

paint stir sticks

round mirror

stain

gorilla glue

wall hanger

Let's get started. I stained the front and sides of each stick.

After they were dry, I laid my sticks out to see what pattern I wanted and to get the spacing right. You can see where I drew some guide lines to help but ended up not using the lines. I just tried to get the space between them as even as possible. Once this was done, I started gluing each one on the back of the mirror. Remember to use tiny dots with gorilla glue. It expands as it dries. I marked a line on each stick to make sure they were the same distance from the edge of the mirror. This row would be in the front so I had to cut the rounded, handle side off. I just scored with wire cutters and snapped off the end.

I staggered the back row and glued them on the backs of the front row. You couldn't see the round edges here so I left them full length.

After all the sticks were in place, I glued a picture hanger to the back and left overnight to dry. I sat a box and trash can on top to make sure it bonded tight.

I love how the dark wood contrasts against the stencil. You can see the wood grain through the stain.

The mirror fills this space nicely. This project only cost me $4.00, the price of the mirror. I had the other supplies on hand.

Sunburst mirrors are a huge trend and I love the look of them. Even if they do go away, I think this one may stay on my wall for a while. Do you like sunburst mirrors or are they too trendy for you?