A roadside find saved just in time to become an antiqued mirror French chest
The text I always love to receive…”I found this on the side of the road, do you want it?” Why yes, yes I do please and thank you! This curbside find was an old entertainment center, pretty plain, but in good condition. I was hoping it would fit in my laundry room for storage, but it was too wide. No worries, I could use some storage in the living room too. I have a bunch of stuff. Also, I’m thinking of displaying the dollhouse here when it is finished…that is until I have little ones around that want to play with it! 
Product was generously provided by Chalkworthy Paint and D. Lawless Hardware. My opinions and ideas are 100% my own. This post also contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience, it means I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase, your price stays the same. Thank you.
The first thing I did to this old entertainment center was take off the lattice work. I knew I wanted to add antiqued mirror to the doors the moment I saw this piece! After I cleaned up the entertainment center I gave it a once over with Chalkworthy Antiquing Paint in White Linen. This was my first experience with Chalkworthy and I have to say I really liked it. The paint was silky smooth and thick, with great coverage. I did give it two coats of paint, but I wanted a solid finish with no distressing. If I’m going to distress I can sometimes get way with one coat. (I will have a resource link for all the products down below in case you want to give any of them a spin.) 
To add some age and texture to the soon to be French chest I heavily accented the woodwork with Chalkworthy black wax. I have always used a brown or dark wax, never black. It gave the piece a gray hue, which I welcomed! I love how the wax sits down in the cracks and crevices, it really shows off the dimension. Dark wax is always great to highlight the details! Always cover your piece in clear wax and then go back over the highlight spots with dark wax for best results. (wax tips here) You can learn more about Giani Granite – the company that makes Chalkworthy on Facebook
For the doors I ordered two custom cut glass pieces and used Amy Howard Antique Mirror solutions to age the mirror. It’ s hard to see in the pictures and I wish I would have aged them a bit more. (You can see the process here) For this mirror I painted the back gold to bring out the gold in the hardware. 
And the hardware. I love the hardware. I’m having a love affair with gold for the moment and these knobs did not disappoint. The old holes got filled with wood filler and sanded smooth. (BTW this process take two to three coats of filler to get it right, at least it does for me!) I moved the handles up and got larger ones so they would be a more prominent aspect of the French chest. The hinges got painted with metallic gold for a fresh update. Hardware is the jewelry of furniture flipping! (did you see how it made the Round Top list this year?) In case you want to try any parts or pieces of this makeover here is what I used.
Antiqued Mirror French Chest Product List
Chalkworthy Antiquing Paint in White Linen
Chalkworthy Wax Clear and Black
Antique Mirror Solutions: Stripper and Finish Solution
This antique mirrored French chest turned out gorgeous, now off to stuff it with thrifted finds! Not bad for a roadside rescue. I’d be so grateful if you shared this makeover. Thanks a bunch friends!
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This turned out so cool! I have recently been searching repurpose hutch tops. One, because I have a couple of them I am not quite sure what to do with and two it is fun to see options. A question – did you pull just the lattice wood strips off and then attach the mirror to the existing wood?
Yes – the lattice was actually screwed in place so I unscrewed it and glued the mirror directly to the surface with a mirror glue adhesive from the hardware store, should have told y’all that part!!! I didn’t paint the wood behind it because I think glue works better wood to mirror.
Looks beautiful Kim!!
thank you Melanie!!!
Looks beautiful kim!
thank friend!
What a cute rescue!! Nice job:)
so glad you like it Melinda 🙂
Nice piece,great makeover.
It was a fun find and is really going to hold a bunch of stuff;)
You gave that piece a complete personality change! And a great one at that! Did the interior get painted?
Did you (or do you plan to) add shelves inside that big space to make it more useable? I keep watching for an estate sale treasure or maybe a curbside rescue to try my hand at a furniture refresh or reassignment. Maybe one day, soon. Thanks for all your inspiration and instruction.
Thanks, I didn’t paint the inside because I don’t have that much patience, it was in good shape and I didn’t want to use more paint than I had to…lol! I did build a makeshift shelf for the inside for extra storage, I will have to snap a picture to show you! hope you find something fun soon!
Ah-mazing!!!!!
Wher did you order the glass? So inspiring!
Navasota glass and mirror is the BEST, they cut it for me and I antiqued it
I love it! One of my favorite things to do.
🙂
What a great find! And a beautiful job refinishing it! My kids used to hate it when I picked up pieces off the curb. But when my oldest was first moving in with a roommate into their own little rented house, they furnished it with thrift store finds and several pieces they found on the curb!
Lol. I would not have been on board as a kid but once it starts to be your money you look at freebies differently for sure!!
Beautiful labor of love! You always inspire me with your projects and what you share from your heart.
I’m not familiar with this paint but it looks beautiful. What prep is required?
not much – it is a chalk type paint an dI just painted the piece! Still have it and it looks fabulous still!
I love this cabinet!!!
I must admit I have not painted furniture with chalk paint before but you’re giving me the inspiration I need!! I have an old chest that has several layers of paint. The last was black glossy paint…painted by my son! ugh! Can I clean it up (what product would I use) and paint on top of the layers of paint or do I need to strip it off?
HI Vickie – well stripping the paint is up to you. If the paint is lumpy and chippy and you want a smooth finish you may need to strip it down. If the paint is in good shape you can easily paint over it with chalk type paint. You run into a problem painting over old paint if you try to paint over oil based paints with non-oil based paints. You might try lightly sanding the piece first for better paint adhesion as well. I would clean it first with a good all purpose cleaner to remove sort and dust so the new paint is applied directly to the old paint for a clean bond. Hope this helps!
Your attention to detail in the hardware and your brilliant imagination are what sparked joy in this rescue. Thank you for the inspiration.
That is so kind Dana thank you, it was a fun piece for sure
Were you able to purchase that mirror locally or did you have to have it shipped? I think I am worried about the shipping costs. I just purchased small pieces of tinted glass for some Christmas gifts and they were rather expensive. Thanks for the tutorial. I have a piece that I am getting ready to refinish and need to put something in four openings. I had thought about decoupaging pieces to fit in each opening, but just haven’t been able to put it together in my head. I have now decided that there will be so much going on with the exterior of the piece that I am going to try your mirror technique. As a side, I did watch the first mirror piece you showed. I actually like the stenciling kind of hit and miss. It isn’t the whole show and it might have been if it had gone your way. I like that it is there for interest but is subtle. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey Sonja! I sourced the mirror locally and had them cut it to fit. but CALL AROUND. the pricing varies greatly! I got a good deal on my mirror and I hope you find a good deal too! Have fun