She Used Cedar Roof Shingles to Make a Huge Wood-Framed Mirror for Her Living Room
Cedar shingles are meant for roofs and exterior walls, but a bundle of unfinished pieces became the frame for a huge round mirror above a living room fireplace.
Right Up My Alley creator Tracy Laverty based the project on a large wooden Ballard Designs mirror that cost around $300. Her version cost $43, using wide cedar shingles around a 14-inch round mirror.
The shingles remain visible in the finished piece rather than being disguised as another material. Knots, grain, rough edges, and changes in color create the pattern around the small reflective center.
The Mirror Started With a Bundle of Cedar Shingles
Wide cedar shingles were chosen instead of narrower wood shims. Their different widths, knots, grain patterns, and uneven edges meant the frame would not have the repetition of identical cut boards.
Stain and Liming Wax Changed the Raw Cedar
Two shades of wood stain were used across the shingles, followed by liming wax. Using more than one stain introduced darker and lighter sections before the pale wax went over the surface.
Liming wax alone made little difference on the unfinished cedar. Staining the wood first brought out the grain, while the wax gave the surface the washed, driftwood-like finish seen on the completed frame.
The contrast is visible between the untreated boards and the darker finished piece, where the grain and knots become much more pronounced.
A Nail and String Marked the Oversized Circle
Scrap half-inch plywood became the backing for both the shingles and mirror. A nail placed at the center held a piece of string attached to a pencil, creating a simple compass for drawing the large outer circle.
The 14-inch mirror was marked at the center before the plywood was cut, establishing the opening and the size of the surrounding wood frame.
The Plywood Was Cut and Recessed for the Mirror
A jigsaw cut the large circle from the plywood, while a router created an inset for the mirror. Recessing the glass allowed it to sit flush with the backing, although mounting it on top would also have worked.
The Shingles Fan Out From the Center
Mirror adhesive secured the glass before the cedar pieces were positioned around it. Each shingle points toward the center while its wider end spreads toward the outside edge, creating the radial pattern without cutting every piece into an identical shape.
The exposed plywood between the first boards also shows the scale difference between the 14-inch mirror and the much larger frame surrounding it.
More Than One Shingle Layout Was Tested
One arrangement layered narrower pieces over the larger shingles, creating more overlap around the circle. The final version dropped the extra layer in favor of wider cedar pieces arranged in a simpler pattern.
Wood glue or construction adhesive held the final arrangement to the plywood, with weight placed on top while the adhesive set.
The Small Mirror Became a Much Larger Wall Piece
Mounted above the fireplace, the reflective center occupies only a small part of the finished circle. Most of its size comes from the cedar shingles radiating toward the outer edge.
Different stains, knots, pale areas, and visible grain keep the frame from reading as one uniform ring of wood. From across the room, the roofing material becomes a large sunburst surrounding the mirror.
The Wood Frame Stays in Place as the Mantel Changes
Seasonal decor changes what sits beneath the mirror without changing the main wall piece. White pumpkins and dried branches were later added to the mantel, while the weathered cedar remained the dominant material above it.
What began as tapered pieces intended for roofing now fills much of the wall between two windows, with the original shape and grain of each cedar shingle still visible in the finished frame.
Image credits go to @Right Up My Alley.