Sunburst Mirror Made From Shims

We are coming down the home stretch with the beach house kitchen and family room makeover.  One thing that we needed was a large piece of artwork for a blank wall in the dining area.

 I ‘ve been admiring these DIY sunburst mirrors on Pinterest – some made using paint stirring sticks and some made using wooden shims.

source: hometalk.com

source:  SgtPeppers Kitchen.com 

source: lifelovelarson.com

I decided that a 3 foot sunburst mirror would fill the space nicely and  at the same time add texture and throw more light over to this side of the room.  I opted for the shim method because I like the more rustic feel.

Here’s my supply list:

1 bundle of shims from Lowes

12 inch round mirror from Hobby Lobby

hot glun gun and glue sticks

a piece of luan plywood for the back

hanger

Loctite for mirror, marble and granite

dark walnut stain leftover from the butcher block countertops

I started by laying out the shims around the mirror to get an idea of the quanity and sizes I would need.

We cut the shims vertically, some in half and some in thirds, by scoring them with a utility knife and then breaking them with our hands.

We used 3 different lengths of shims:  some full length, some about 2/3rds and some about 1/2.  My husband helped me out here by slicing them with his circular saw.

For the back board, my husband cut an octagon shaped piece of luan plywood, about 18″ in width.  This made it really easy to place the shims symmetrically.

Once I had all my pieces cut, we stained them with the dark walnut stain.

We secured the hanger to the backboard before we started gluing the shims.  We used a two-part ledge style hanger system with the other piece screwed to the wall.  This system allows you to slide the mirror horizontally on the wall to get it centered.

And then I handed the project over to my daughters for assembly. They used hot glue guns to glue the shims to the back board and to each other, one layer at a time.

Finally, we used a product called Loctite for mirror, marble and granite to glue the mirror to the shims and back board.

The mirror fills the space nicely (and hides an unused phone jack).

The mirror also brings some of the dark wood tones in the curtain rods and countertops over to the dining side of the kitchen.

The project came in at under $15.  And I still have quite a few shims leftover.  The color possibilities are endless with this project, making it a great piece to coordinate with any decor.