Dumpster Diving Mirror

I saw an add on Craigslist for a large white armoirs. They were beautiful, they were close by...and they were FREE!! I knew I'd love to get my hands on one, but I just didn't have the space. Do you know how frustrating that is? So, I did the next best thing...I called friends who I thought might be interested. One of those friends ran over and now has a fantastic armoir in her master bedroom. It looks amazing. You would never know it was free from the back of a warehouse!

What does that have to do with dumpster diving? On her trip, my friend discovered this place is a giant hotel liquidator warehouse. Who knew? It is filled with tons of furnishings that have been removed from hotels. She had gotten there after they closed and wanted a look around, so the next day she picked me up for a treasure hunt.

We pulled into the back of the warehouse. No more armoirs, but there were two dumpsters bursting at the seams. Hmmm... We were already there, we had to take a look around! We were practically required by law to check it out. Look what I found...

Isn't it beautiful? Ok, maybe it's not beautiful yet...but I knew I loved the lines of this piece.

When I first pulled it out of the dumpster (that still makes me laugh that I actually pulled this out of the dumpster!) it had a large curvy piece that made it look like it came from a hotel. Well, it did come from a hotel. I just didn't want it to look like it belonged in a hotel. The shape I could fix easily. The main problem was that the finish was in rough shape. Just look at this:


I gave all of the rough areas a light sanding with my power sander. I wiped the entire piece free from dust and taped off the mirror. I gave the whole piece a coat of Rust-Oleum Primer. With one coat of primer I knew this was going to be just what I hoped it would. It was looking beautiful! You know it is going to be great when you like it with primer and painters tape still coving the piece! Next, I gave it a coat of Rust-Oleum Heritage White. After drying, I took my power sander back to the mirror and roughed up a few edges. I added a few hooks that had been removed from another project, to the bottom of the mirror. I was in love!


I can't get over how great this mirror looks. I absolutely love it! It is in my master bedroom and looks fantastic. Not only does it look great, but it cost $0! The mirror was free, the hooks were free and the paint was already in my stash. Free! Beautiful and free!


There is just one problem. I am not sure what I like better: the dumpster diving mirror...or...the friend who is willing to go dumpster diving with me! Thanks MR! I can't wait for our next adventure!