Upgrade An IKEA Mirror With An Aluminum Foil Hack For A Shiny, Textured Look

Our homes are a bit like museums curated to represent our tastes over time. We fill them with things we love, but even the trendiest home décor loses that wow factor as the years go on. Rather than selling these items, you can transform them into something new with a little elbow grease and some creativity. This lets you keep the things you've collected, but enjoy them in a new way. That's precisely what you'll learn to do in this project featuring a round mirror, and surprisingly, some aluminum foil.  

YouTuber Lina's Home Creations decided to take on an upcycling challenge with a discontinued IKEA Tranby mirror. These large, round models include a four-layer mosaic frame and used to be available in several colors, including silver. Although the creator used this particular IKEA model, you can use any round mirror with a thick frame. By rolling foil into long strands and hot-gluing them around the looking glass, Lina developed a textured, hammered metal finish. If you want to create a DIY mirror frame on a budget, this is the project for you. Check out how to transform an old reflective surface into a piece of art without breaking the bank.

It's easy to DIY gorgeous wall décor on a budget with creative aluminum foil hacks. For this one, all you need is an old mirror, a few boxes of foil, and a hot glue gun. Take this craft up a notch with colored aluminum sheets, like the soft copper at Michaels for $18.30. You could also go with a lookalike product and save the work. Adhesive gold peel and stick molding trim from Amazon is $12.00. Choosing an alternative embellishment might mean missing out on the discount factor, but lets you customize your mirror more to your style. Once you've assembled materials, it's crafting time.

If you're working with foil, the first step is cutting it into strips and rolling it lengthwise. This is very reminiscent of making Play-Doh snakes as a kid. Once you've created a pile of these silver strands, start gluing them around the frame of the mirror. If you've chosen to use the adhesive molding, simply peel and stick it on. Use hot glue to secure it if the trim is loose. Continue this process until the frame is covered. No matter which way you embellish it, upcycling something old into something new is a feel-good craft. You get to breathe new life into an item you once loved, rescuing it from the trash heap, and saving your pocket book the cost of a new mirror.