Pattern drenching is so in right now. And have you seen all those cute upholstered mirrors out there? I’m looking at you, Anthropologie. They pack a design punch, but the price isn’t for the faint of heart.
Then tend to run in the thousands, especially if you want a floor mirror. So I set out to make my own upholstered floor mirror for much less. We’re talking under $200. And I used something you probably already have in your garage…
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN UPHOLSTERED MIRROR IN 3 EASY STEPS
To begin, I grabbed everything I thought I might need to complete this upholstered mirror project. Make sure your mirror has slightly curved edges.
Here’s what I ordered…
- Floor mirror with curved edges
- Thin, hollow pool noodles
- Batting
- Small pins
- Fabric (I used sheets)
- Hot glue
Here are the tools you need…
STEP 1: CUT AND INSTALL YOUR POOL NOODLES
Grab your noodles and your utility knife. Make sure the blade is long enough to cut through one side of your noodle to the hollow center.
Then cut a straight line down the length of your noodle. Pull that one side apart to open it up a little bit, then fit it around the edges of your mirror.
Continue until your mirror edges are all covered with the noodles, using the utility knife to cut the last one to size. Make sure your noodles meet on the sides of the mirror, not the edges, to ensure they continue around the curves! I used tiny pins to help hold my noodle edges together.
STEP 2: ADD YOUR BATTING OVER THE NOODLES
I cut my batting into long 8″ strips. You want to make sure the batting will cover the noodle plus have an additional 2-3″ on both sides.
Once cut, I placed the batting on top of the noodles and tucked in the extra into the noodle border, using more pins where needed to help hold things together.
The batting should be snug against the noodle with everything tucked neatly — make sure there is not excess or loose ends anywhere!
STEP 3: ADD YOUR FABRIC
Now that your mirror has its base, it’s time to grab your fabric. I used sheets for this part. Cut your fabric into strips, making sure to take the direction of your pattern into account.
For example, the direction of the top and bottom strips might differ from the sides if you want your pattern to face the same direction.
I recommend cutting one strip for each side of the mirror, with 3-4 inches left over on all sides.
Place your fabric on each side, then tuck it into the noodle, making sure to pull it tight as you go.
When you get to the corners, gently fold over the fabric to create a clean edge, and use pins to help hold it where you want it.
I again used pins around the fabric to ensure it stayed put while I was working with it.
Once I had my fabric where I wanted it and was happy with the corners, I grabbed my steamer to soften any wrinkles. Then, I carefully lifted the edges of the noodle and hot glued at different points around the mirror frame to ensure nothing could be easily pulled off.
AND THAT’S IT
This is a project you can really make your own. And you’re not gluing until the end, so you can’t mess up! If you don’t like what’s happening, start over and make adjustments until you do!
This is an easy weekend project that doesn’t require any sewing or intimidating power tools! So get creating and see what you come up with!
Will you try to make your own upholstered mirror, or would you prefer to buy one?
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