If there is one home design and decor hack that we don't see enough of, it's mirrored furniture. You may not realise it, but mirrored furniture can do a lot of work for your interior styling. Whether you are trying to make a space feel bigger and brighter, or reflect your outside view in, mirrors are the go-to styling implement for the modern home owner.          

Buying mirrored furniture items, such as wardrobes and tables, can be expensive however. That's why, in this latest blog from The Plastic People, we are going to discuss how you can make your very own DIY mirrored furniture using plastics!

Acrylic (perspex) mirrors are the perfect alternative to glass as they are cheaper and easier to work with. At half the weight of glass, and 17 times stronger, acrylic is a shatterproof material that is more durable than glass. We can cut acrylic mirrors to any size or shape too, so all you have to do is install the mirror in your home. To get an instant quote on your mirror today, click here. 

Easy Mirror Facelifts - Table Top Mirrors

You can mirror just about any piece of furniture as long as its eadges are square and its surfaces are flat.  Furniture with clean, simple lines are choice candidates for the easiest of mirror facelifts! One of the simplest projects to start off with is to refresh an existing table with a just a mirror top, leaving the rest of the table as is.

If you’re more confident, you could have a go at covering an entire table in mirror – remember when you measure up for the mirror to go on the table legs plan for one mirror piece to overlap the adjacent piece, so you get a clean edge.

Mirrored tables create a great place to bounce light around your kitchen or dining area. They are particularly popular with children too, who love to play with the reflective surface. Acrylic mirrors are very hygenic as they can be wiped clean - and are safer than glass around children. 

To get your mirrored table top made to measure, make sure to use our website. Click here to try out our online calculatro and get an instant quote today. 

Choosing Mirror

Before you start transforming any piece of furniture with mirror (whether acrylic or glass) measure up or make templates of the areas you wish to cover. We recommend having the measurements for all sides and tops, but for furniture items such as drawers, you should provide a template in case of slight variations in drawer sizes. You should also mark out any cut-outs for handles on your drawings. 

You can take your measurements and templates to your local glass shop or, if you decide to use acrylic mirror or polycarbonate mirror, the friendly team at The Plastic People will be happy to give you a quote if you email your measurements and template.  

Whichever option you choose, your mirror supplier can cut the mirror to the sizes and shapes you need, and drill any holes where you might want them, saving you the tricky job. With a bit of planning and patience on your part you can have all the mirror shapes you need supplied without having to attempt the cutting yourself.  If you like to order online, the added benefit of acrylic mirror is that it is unlikely to break during transit as it is so much stronger than glass mirror. 

Fixing Mirror

Depending on what the piece of furniture you wish to cover with mirror, your fixing choices vary.  If you are covering the top of a piece of furniture - for example, the dining table above - you may simply wish to lie the mirror onto the top of the furniture and give it some resistance by using some rubber stops to prevent slippage. 

If you wish to adhere mirror to your furniture - for example, to wall - you may prefer a clean, seamless look and like to choose a suitable adhesive rather than mechanically fixing the mirror with screws. A suitable adhesive for acrylic mirror is Evo-stik's Acrylic Mirror Adhesive. We offer a wide range of acrylic adhesives on our website, click here to check them out. 

Top Tips For Fitting Acrylic Mirror

If you are considering working with acrylic mirror, here are our top tips to fitting them successfully:

1. For best results, fix acrylic mirror to a completely flat wall or surface. If you are fitting it to a wall which is not completely flat and smooth, or you are not sure, it is best to fit it first to something rigid such as a piece of MDF.

2. If you are bonding mirrored acrylic to wood, brick, plaster or other wall substrates, use Acrylic Mirror Adhesive  – it won’t adversely affect the mirrored acrylic. 

3. If you’re screwing acrylic mirror in place, have the holes drilled a little oversize. This will allow the acrylic mirror to expand and contract with temperature changes. Note that acrylic mirror can warp in variable temperatures. Changes in humidity levels cause the biggest variation.

4. Do not over tighten screw fasteners as it will cause dimpling and distortion. 

5. If you are going to drill the acrylic mirror yourself back up the surface with a durable material like plywood so the drill bit continues into a solid material preventing chipping on the opposite side of the mirror.

Further Help 

Our team of plastic experts are always on hand to offer further advice and guidance for your DIY projects. You can click here to contact them via our website or email us at service@theplasticpeople.co.uk for more information. 

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