Add a touch of traditional French style to your home or office with a trumeau mirror. Extremely popular in France during the 18th century, trumeau mirrors consist of a large frame with a mirror inset and a small panel of decorative artwork above the mirror. Perhaps you've seen these unusual mirrors at antiques shops or home-furnishing stores but haven't wanted to pay the price. DIY Decorating & Design host Nancy Golden explains how to make a trumeau inexpensively. The finished size of this project is 2 1/2' by 3 1/2' with a 1' by 2' mirror inset. A piece of toile de jouy fabric was used for the decorative panel above the mirror, but a number of options are available, including a piece of artwork or tile. The finished trumeau is made of fine-grade plywood edged with standard trim molding. Molding is also used to frame the mirror inset and the decorative panel. The piece is finished in cherry stain with brown glaze over it. Materials:
2 1/2' x 3 1/2' piece of fine-grade plywood
1' x 2' mirror
Toile de jouy fabric
Wood-trim molding--three different standard trim moldings
Wood embellishments
Miter box and saw
Drill
Hammer
Finish nails
Nail set
Mirror mastic
Spray adhesive
Wood putty
Paint or stain of your choice
Painting tools
Polyurethane sealer
- Plan the size and style of your trumeau mirror, and have plywood and the mirror inset cut to size at a home-improvement center.
- Use a miter box to make 45-degree cuts on the trim molding that will be used to frame the plywood frame (figure A) as well as the mirror inset and the decorative panel.
- Use finish nails to attach the molding to the perimeter of the plywood after drilling pilot holes. Recess the nails with a nail set.
- Stain or paint the mirror frame as desired, as well as the wooden embellishments and the molding pieces.
- When the stain is dry, attach the mirror inset to the piece with mirror mastic.
- Attach the fabric panel above the mirror with spray adhesive.
- After drilling pilot holes, frame the mirror and fabric panel with trim molding attached with finishing nails (figure B). Recess the nails with a nail set and patch the holes with wood putty and stain.
- Add wooden embellishments to the bottom corners of the mirror and above the decorative panel.
- Protect the wood surface with a coat or two of polyurethane sealer.
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