I love a project.
More so, I love an easy project! Especially one for the garden. Our garden is quite small with slim, straight borders and, dare I say, it can look a little boring at times. I have been working on filling up the borders with a variety of plants, including climbers to cover every surface. However, this DIY garden window mirror really adds depth and space and is really pretty when it catches the light.
Around this time last year, I was seeing garden mirrors which looked like windows everywhere and I really wanted one…. but so expensive! I really don’t have £100 to spend on a garden window mirror, so, only one thing for it…. I decided to make my own.
It’s very basic and I just used old trellis I had literally lying around the garden for the window frame, however, any wood will do. Perhaps some left over picture rail or just some cheap lengths of wood from the local DIY shop will do the trick. It’s best to paint the wood first with wood preservative in whatever colour takes your fancy.
What you will need for your DIY garden window mirror:
- IKEA Lots Mirror set x 2 (there are four 30cm x 30cm mirrors per set)
- Lengths of wood – I used my broken trellis, which is 5cm wide:
- 3 x 110cm (these will be for the sides and middle = 30cm x 3 + 4 x the width of your wood; 4 x 5cm here)
- 8 x 30cm (these are the lengths to place between the mirrors)
- MDF board – 110cm x 75cm (75cm = 2 x 30cm + 3 x width of wood; 3 x 5cm here) – treat this with wood preservative once cut to size.
- PVA glue
- No More Nails (or equivalent)
- Small nails
- Hammer
- Silicon sealant (I used clear)
How to make a DIY garden window mirror:
First cut your MDF board to size. I did mine myself the old fashioned way with a saw, but you can just get it cut to size at the DIY shop for free usually. Lay this flat on the floor and position your mirrors on top with the wood panels to check everything fits.
Attach the panels using No More Nails. Start with the long left hand side and bottom short left hand side lengths. Position a mirror to use as a guide for the next short length and add these all the way up. Then add the middle panel and short bottom right hand side length, position mirrors and short lengths again and finally add the long right hand side length.
Leave the No More Nails to set for the required time. Once set, remove the mirrors and fix the panel with nails at the corners to make the ‘frame’ really strong.
The mirrors are stuck on using a generous amount of PVA glue. Pour a large blob into the middle of each square and press the mirror on top. I then put plant pots on each mirror to hold them tight while the glue dried.
Once the glue is dry (I left mine all afternoon), take the pots off and seal around the edges of each mirror using silicon sealant. This will stop the rain getting in. I also used the silicon sealant to fill the gap between the frame and the MDF board.
Leave to dry for 24 hours before putting out in the garden.
And that’s it – REALLY easy! I brought mine indoors over winter as it isn’t the strongest – I did use broken old wood after all – but it has survived very well and the mirrors are stuck on firmly. I’ve propped mine up against a fence with ivy growing around to help it blend in. It’s grubby and has posed no threat to the birds, who don’t fly this low!
