The Cheap Thrift Store Find That’ll Solve Your Blank Wall Woes
Finding affordable wall art can be a seriously tricky task for anyone working within a budget. I’ll admit, the wall above my sofa is still pitifully blank (and I moved in seven months ago…eek!). Possible solutions include large-scale DIY art and inexpensive prints and posters, but here’s a new one: affordable vintage mirrors. They’re ubiquitous at flea markets and thrift stores, tend to come cheap, and help make a room look bigger and brighter. That’s a win-win-win.
Where to Find Them: If you don’t have many thrift stores in your area, search Etsy, Chairish, and 1stdibs (and don’t forget peer-to-peer selling apps like Craigslist and 5Miles). If you’ll be using a mirror as pure decoration, don’t stress about black spots or the cloudiness of the glass. These marks add character and may cause vendors to drop the price.
If you love the gallery wall look but your budget can only affordable one great piece of art, fill in the blanks with inexpensive thrift store mirrors, like One Claire Day did above, spotted on sfgirlbybay.
Frameless vintage mirrors line the shelves of the powder room in a former artist’s studio, the Foster House, found via Film Photography Location. If you have a shelf with a lip, simply lean the mirror to avoid punching another hole in the wall.
Above the stove is an unexpected spot to layer mirrors, but it gives a traditionally stark space a homey feel. The ones above from Lonny are placed on a simple white shelf, but to be sure they won’t fall, use a shelf with a lip or secure them to the wall.
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For a new traditional take on the mirror gallery wall, choose coordinating frames and space the pieces evenly, as shown above from Nathan Turner’s American Style, featured on La Dolce Vita.
It comes as no surprise that these mirrors in striking shapes belong to a French antiques dealer with 15 years of experience. Tour the rest of her eclectic home on Milk Decoration.