Dark pieces of furniture can sometimes make the room seem smaller or crowded. This was the case of my Ikea “Mongstad” mirror. For years it was the best companion to the end of our hallway in the old apartment, helping this area feel ample. But now that we live in a house, I wasn’t able to find the right spot for it.
After giving it a thought, I decided to try sanding this mirror but knowing that it wasn’t real wood. Before embarking in this project, I first tested it on the back to see how this material will react to the sanding machine. I was impressed to find that it looked like real wood.
After sanding for a couple of minutes I gave this piece a light tint and I’m proud to say it looks amazing!
I love the final result and think it goes perfectly well with my fireplace and my wood floor. Don’t you think it is a truly miracle? This goes to prove that sometimes in life one have to take risks.
27 Comments
Unknown
September 28, 2015 at 6:06 pmGreat post – this is *exactly* what I was looking for – down to the stain color!!!! It really looks amazing! Would you mind sharing the exact stain brand/color so that I can full-on copy you??? Thanks so much!
Gloribell Lebron
September 28, 2015 at 6:52 pmHi there! Good morning everyone! The #WoodStain I used for this mirror is #Varathane #wood stain in #Golden #Oak color from @homedepot (#LetsDoThis). I removed the old paint with a @RyobiPowerTools Random Orbit Sander using a 60 grit #Diablo #sandpaper and to finish it, a 200 grit one. Please let me know if you have any other questions and have a great #Saturday!
Eden
December 24, 2019 at 3:51 pmThat mirror was black an you got it that light wood color?
Gloribell Lebron
December 26, 2019 at 2:27 pmHi there Eden! Yes, this mirror was dark brown and by sanding it and staining, I gave it another look. Thanks for stopping by.
Pham Linh
January 5, 2016 at 6:19 pmFurniture is really a important element of an office and home which add style and beauty.Thanks for sharing this beautiful Furniture.
Tom Brady
April 1, 2016 at 11:51 amThe house become more beautiful due to the furniture. Your post is great! Thank the author!
Kaitlyn Pacada
November 16, 2017 at 4:52 pmHi! I started sanding the back of my mongstad mirror to test out a spot before sanding the whole mirror. The black color is coming off but underneath doesn’t look like wood. It will looks like compressed wood or something. Do I need to sand deeper? You mirror has visible wood grain on it but I’m not seeing that on mine.
Gloribell Lebron
November 16, 2017 at 5:11 pmHello there! For this project I used a fine grade sanding paper (120-150). This only remove the top coat on the mirror’s frame. Still, if I were to sand to harshly in certain areas, I would get the underneath compress wood (and this happened to me). Another product I recently discover was the CitriStrip. Although I didn’t use this on my Ikea mirror, I’ve used it on both wood and compress materials and it had worked wonderful. Hope this helps, if not, please let me know. I’ll be more than happy to help!
Vannia Enriquez
October 7, 2018 at 10:12 pmHow did your do the inner areas closest to the mirror?
Gloribell Lebron
October 8, 2018 at 9:23 amHi! I used a small piece of sanding paper around this part. Also, I blue taped all the mirror in this area prior to sanding.
R Boro
August 17, 2019 at 2:01 pmIve tried doing this recently and there is no way to take off the top coat and still see the wood grain finish. The description above first says 60 grit then 200 grit, and then it says 120-150 in a post below. Ive tried doing it countless ways using the Random Orbit Sander and it doesnt work. There is no way this is real…
Gloribell Lebron
August 17, 2019 at 2:05 pmHi there! I’m so sorry you are not achieving this looks based on this tutorial. I did this many years ago and it worked on my old Ikea mirror. Perhaps they’ve changed the material or finish they’re using nowadays. I bought this mirror around 2008.
Annie Long
October 9, 2019 at 3:44 pmThank you so much for sharing this. I just tested my mongstad mirror and the back was particle board but the side and front is vaneer! I’m super excited and can’t wait to see how this turns out! Hopefully as beautiful as yours…
Gloribell Lebron
October 15, 2019 at 8:25 amHi there! I’m so happy to read this message. Yes, I was fascinated by the outcome of this project. Please keep me posted on yours!
Tiffany Husser
February 19, 2020 at 7:23 pmI’m amazed to find this! I have this same mirror and, like you, my style has changed! I refurbish a lot of furniture but have been scared to attempt this mirror not knowing if it’s real wood. Sounds like the key is to be very gentle…think I’ll go for it! Thank you!
Gloribell Lebron
February 22, 2020 at 7:01 pmSo happy to have served as an inspiration! Hope it all goes well with your project and please keep me posted. If you’re on Instagram, please tag me (@knowhowshedoesit) so I can have a look 😉
Aida
May 9, 2020 at 9:19 amHello Gloribell , thank you so much for this tutorial. I’m literally about to embark on this up cycle today. I was confused which sandpaper to use – first you said 60 grit then 120-150 ? Which is best? Like you I purchased this mirror 2007/08 so I think we will have the same materials. Many thanks for your help. I will follow you from my insta home account inside_no.321 and let you know how it goes.
Gloribell Lebron
May 9, 2020 at 4:21 pmHi there! This is such an old DIY so my apologies if I cannot provide you with accurate responses. But if I’m not mistaken, I used first the hard sandpaper to remove the top paint coat and then the soft sandpaper for a subtle finish in the wood. I’m pretty sure I cleaned all the dust before moving on to the stain. Please make sure to do a sandpaper test on an area that is not visible just in case. Hope it all goes well with this project and please keep me posted.
Thank you so much for writing and for your support.
Linzi
June 3, 2020 at 9:13 amI bought this mirror second hand specifically to do this project and it turned out beautifully! Thanks for the inspo!
Gloribell Lebron
June 3, 2020 at 11:48 amSo happy to read this! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Kikizinha
June 11, 2020 at 11:24 amDid you use the same techniques that Gloribell mentioned above? I’ve been sitting on this mirror for years and I hope I can do the same.
Tina
October 26, 2020 at 11:32 amThank you for the inspiration. We did it and it worked!
Gloribell Lebron
March 31, 2021 at 6:33 pmSo happy to read this. Thanks for stopping by!
Patricia L.
March 31, 2021 at 6:30 pmI found your project two days ago, and did it today!! I love my ikea mirror again lol! I was nervous that once sanded it wouldn’t look like real wood, but it does, it looks really really good!! Thank you for this!!
Gloribell Lebron
March 31, 2021 at 6:33 pmI’m so happy you did this! It was a total transformation not only to the mirror, but also the entire space. Thanks for sharing this.
Kara
July 22, 2021 at 7:32 pmHello,When you sanded the veneer did you sand the dark brown completely off or did you just lightly sand to fade it?
Gloribell Lebron
July 22, 2021 at 9:59 pmHi! I sand the brown completely off.