Vintage French trumeau (pronounced troo-moh) mirrors are a sight to behold, but they're also few and far between here in the U.S. As such, the price tag corresponds to their scarcity in the wild.   

I was lucky enough to find a vintage trumeau mirror at a great price, but then took it upon myself to give it a makeover. Let's check it out!

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I  found this gorgeous, vintage trumeau mirror at a local pop up vintage warehouse sale and immediately fell in love with it. While it cost $38.00, which is a bit high for my thrifting budget (but overall a fabulously cheap price), I couldn't resist. The seller even said she had a hard time parting with it because it was so beautiful!  

I brought it home and began some research which revealed that a trumeau is a mirror that has a painted, or carved, panel above or below the glass in the same frame. Just. Like. Mine.

According to "The Art of the Trumeau Mirror":

Trumeau is an architectural term designating space between vertical elements in an interior such as space between doors, windows, or pilasters. And in the century prior to the French Revolution it was much in vogue to fill the space with mirror in order to reflect light. 

 

I noticed during my research that the trumeau mirrors I loved the most were the ones painted some shade of gray, with gold appliques and other gold details. The above mirror sold on an art and antiques website. The description said it was circa 1770. I love it! 

I found many other similar examples which together became my blueprint for painting and transforming my own trumeau mirror.

 

 

HOW TO PAINT A TRUMEAU MIRROR

1. Pick a paint color and get your brushes ready. I used Behr Marquee in Dolphin Gray (leftover sample from our kitchen remodel). 

I also used a very delicate paint brush since I was only going to be painting narrow swaths of the mirror's frame with the gray paint. I  used a paintbrush that came with a paint-by-number set. If you've ever done a paint-by-number, you know those paint brushes are t-i-n-y thin.

The brush(es) you use will depend on the style and size of your trumeau mirror.  

2. Using painter's tape, tape off any areas you don't want touched by the paint. I focused on taping off the inner gold framework, leaving the outer frame free to be painted.

3. Dry brush the paint onto the trumeau mirror's frame. To dry brush, just dip the brush in the paint and then blot it on a paper towel, removing most of the paint, before applying it to the mirror's frame anywhere you feel would benefit from it.

Wanting to give the frame an overall distressed look, I left parts of it unpainted.

4. If you're using a wood panel like I did, paint the panel the same color as the frame.

5. Age your appliques by first painting them white, followed by some wax in Antique, followed by Rub 'n Buff in any gold flavor of your choice. I used Rub 'n Buff in gold leaf.

I was going for that old world patina effect, as if the appliques were always a part of the trumeau mirrror -- and I think I achieved it! 

6. Adhere the wooden appliques to the wood panel with E-6000 glue or Gorilla Glue. I used E-6000. 

7. Once the glue dries, insert the wood panel over the artwork to complete the trumeau mirror makeover.  

I went a step further and painted the French bow on top of the trumeau mirror with Rub 'n Buff in gold leaf to brighten things up. 

And here's my painted trumeau mirror sitting pretty on the living room fireplace mantel!

It's fitting that the mirror is over the fireplace -- just like where the original trumeau mirrors were displayed in the 1700's.   

While I love gold mirrors and frames, the gold on this trumeau mirror was too dark for my taste. (The edited photos make the original gold look much brighter than it really is.) Adding the gray paint made some of the gold accents really pop, especially coupled with the Rub 'n Buff in gold leaf I used to paint the French bow.