Captains Mirror Gallery

The DIY Captains mirrors turned into an eye-catching gallery wall.  I am so happy with the result.  I had been trying to figure out the best solution for this awkward wall for the longest time.  A small collection to fill up the space was the best idea I came up with and that idea became the mirror gallery.

View from the front door.

I really enjoyed putting together the family gallery wall in our great room, but I found the mirror gallery wall much easier to put together.  I started with hanging the three DIY Captains mirrors, but they did not quite fill the space.  I tried spreading them out, but they looked disjointed and not at all collection-like.  It just so happens, the set of mirrors I bought included five round mirrors.  I only used three to make the Captains mirrors due to the number of belts I found.  Well, once I added the remaining two mirrors into the mix the wall filled out nicely.

I made a bit of a mess.

For the last few days I have been toiling over how to hang the Captains mirrors, two of which have 1.5″ leather (belt) straps.  I looked for knobs or hooks I could attach to the wall.  I almost settled on $6-each crystal cabinet knobs… until I could not find screws to mount them to the wall and I was concerned they were not deep enough for the belts.  Thanks to Home Depot not being able to find someone to help me look for screws, I spent enough time in the screw aisle to find another option.  In the hook and eye section I found a $1-each solution.  Eyes have a screw on one end with a large circle on the other.  Hooks have a screw on one end and an L-shape hook on the other.  I grabbed three $1 hooks to hang the mirrors.  They screw directly into the wall and are deep enough to accommodate the belts.

Only downside to the hooks…they are pretty plain.  I did not like the unfinished, industrial look for this project.  I found some big (1/2″) faux crystal brad scrapbook embellishments at Michaels.  A pack of 12 was $3.  I simply snipped off the brad wires on the back of each gem.  I used E6000 glue to attach them to the face of the hooks after they had been screwed to the wall.  The crystals have a little sparkle, but the understated brown/grey color keeps them from pulling attention away from the mirrors.

The Captains mirrors also have a few 3M command strips holding them to the wall.  I don’t fully trust the decorative straps and I definitely do not trust my kids with loose wall hangings.  Since these mirrors are at kid level I wanted to secure them all with the picture hanging strips.  I found with the family room gallery wall, if the frames don’t even budge it removes all temptation for little ones.

Love this frame of reference shot from the dining room.  You can see how this part of the foyer opens up to the dining room.  In the upper left corner you can see the DIY beveled mirror in the stairwell and to the right you can see the art and family portraits in the niches.

At last… I resolved my decor challenge with the awkward angled wall by the stairs.  The mirror gallery adds interest and a glimpse into the newly finished dining room in the reflection.  Now, off to tackle other foyer projects, like softening up that bench to get a break from all of the black/brown on that wall…

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