I’m just sayin’, if you are married to me, you should really know better than to say things like:
when I show you pictures of things like this weathered octagon mirror I first saw on YHL and later found on pinterest which retails for about $348. (It was on shopterrain.com but it’s not there anymore.)
Because when people who I’m married to say things like that, octagonal mirrors just LEAP onto their to-do list and no one can do anything to stop it.
Fortunately for me and people who I’m married to, this little project cost us zero dollars and turned out pretty nicely, I think:
Did I mention it cost us zero dollars? Zero. Like, $348, and then 100 percent off. Just so we’re clear on the price.
If you read many DIY home blogs, you’re probably already sick to death of the pallet wood trend, and you’re thinking that I probably need to stop calling this a DIY blog because I haven’t used any pallets yet. Hopefully I’ll redeem myself today by jumping on this trend just as it’s dying its long, slow death.
So we found this pallet just hanging out by one of our neighbor’s trash cans, and like the classy neighbors we are, we hid in the cloak of night as we threw it in the back of our car and sped away.
We started by carefully prying each board off the pallet, but then we took the easy power tool route instead and just sawed the boards right off.
Then Andy used his fancy geometric wizardry to cut eight of the boards into an octagon at 135 degrees with his miter saw.
But it wasn’t easy. The pallet wood is VERY imperfect. It comes in all different thicknesses and widths, which made the project much more difficult than expected for that poor sap who married me.
And to make matters worse, you really need a very precise angle to get the whole octagon to come out perfectly, and most miter saws aren’t precise enough, so you get some of this action:
At this point the guy I’m married to proved that he’s more strategic and scheming than I’d given him credit for, because he completely validated the “need” for a new toy, I mean tool. We ordered this digital protractor, which allowed him to get the exact angle he needed down to 1/10 of a degree.
Wasn’t that smart of him to finagle a new tool out of this project? Once he had the octagon angles right, he cut a little groove in each piece to hold the mirror.
And added trim to the outside of each of the eight pieces using more of the pallet wood.
Then it was time to cut the mirror. We lucked out a couple years ago when someone was giving away several large, 8-foot-tall sheets of mirror on craigslist. We hauled those giant pieces of mirror all the way across town without even knowing what we’d do with them, but today we finally redeemed that trip of yesteryear!
Andy cut a square of mirror, then cut the corners off to make an octagon.
And finally, he assembled it all using a pin-nailer and wood glue, under Weston’s careful supervision.
After last month’s giant mantle disaster, he made sure to reinforce the back with some wood scraps.
And we hung it up! It won’t live on the mantle permanently, but it is kind of rustic and autumn-ish, so that’s where she’ll stay for now.
I love the colors in the wood and the rustic texture.
Not bad for zero dollars, right? (Did I mention it was free?) Technically Andy’s new toy added to the cost, but I’ll just subtract that cost from his monthly allowance.
(KIDDING.)
And I think he secretly loves these kinds of projects because they allow him to honestly tell his math students that there are times in life when you WILL need to know the interior angle of an octagon. You’re welcome, honey.
Do you often find yourself wondering about the interior angles of polygons? Does the person you’re married to know what phrases result in more jobs for them? Have you done a pallet wood project?
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Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
Hehehehehe, I could have written that firs paragraph! The person I’m married to made the same mistake when looking at a portable puppet theater last week…
Totally and completely awesome!!! Love the color of the wood with it’s weathered and worn patina, the shape of the mirror, the PRICE TAG! Beautiful job Andy – and Kelly, nice vision!!
I am so jealous of that digital protractor, I needed that when I was mis-cutting all the angles for my stairs board & batten. I bet you’ll end up using that thing all the time!
Omg, nailed it! Wowzer, that is gorgeous and a 100% dead ringer for the pricey one. Well done team! I just may have to casually suggest this to my mathy husband. Don’t want him feeling left out of the DIY home decor world after all. (He’s always complaining about that.)
Really nice!
All I can say is this is AWESOME! Great tutorial….putting it up on my FB tonight!
Kelly! This is fantastic! One of the best DIY’s I’ve ever seen. I am beyond impressed. Love it!!
It looks awesome. You guys did such a good job.
I seriously just watched this on High and Low Project on HGTV – like while I was reading this! haha so awesome! Great job!
WoW! I wish I had a handy, math expert husband. I would have a list of so many things for him to do, ongoing. This mirror is fantastic. Now, have him reproduce them and sell them for $200 and you will get all kinds of sales and you’ll make 100% profit (as long as you don’t count his labor ! :)). Great idea & Great project.
And I totally don’t count his labor. 🙂 (He probably wishes that weren’t the case. Haha) Thanks so much for the comment!
This is gorgeous! What tools did Andy use to cut the mirror itself?
Thanks! He has a glass cutter thing that he uses, but we actually have a post coming up about how to cut mirror. 🙂
This is awesome. And it’s making me realize I don’t have you on my Blog Love page. So, that’s happening soon. Yay! LOL.
ADORABLE!!! I want a pallet bed. Have not attempted anything pallet-ish yet. Oh wait, I take that back. I do stage design for our church and 2 years ago at Christmas I made the manger out of pallets 🙂 cuz baby Jesus was born in a structure made of pallets, I am pretty sure.
Baby Jesus was almost certainly born in a pallet manger. With chevron swaddling clothes. He’s always way ahead of the trends.
This is seriously amazing! I like yours more than the original too which is even better!! I’ve been devising a plan to make a very similar one for our ensuite but hadn’t figured out how- thanks for the instructions! haha. SUPER impressed!
Oooh cool! I’m excited to see how yours turns out. It actually ended up being a super mathy project, way more than I expected. Or maybe Andy was just geeking out over the angles, I’m not sure. Good luck with it!
perfect!! and 100% off is how I roll too! great tutorial
Well, done! It looks just as good as the spendy mirror.
Very pretty! Your hubby did a great job.
Holy cow. He’s seriously amazing! That looks just like the inspiration and $0 is my kinda budget.
What a wonderfully handy husband you have! That mirror is amazing! I absolutely LOVE it!
This is absolutely awesome!!!! Makes you second guess the silliness that is a pallet project, no?!?! Why buy new looking wood when you can get cool looking wood for free!!! 🙂
Amazing! I love it! Looks like I’ll be hiding out in the dark tonight to snatch up some pallets from the house their building down to road!
*the* road. See what happens when I get excited! I can’t spell haha
I had no clue there was such thing as a digital protractor. I hope I never have the need for one. That being said – once again, you guys ROCKED it, and if you ever need extra money I’m sure you could rent Andy out!!
I LOVE this! Very cute!
It’s so pretty! I must know: how did Andy cut the glass?? Do I need to come be his student to find out? I promise I won’t do anything weird like write “I love Mexicans” on my homework. (Not that I’ve ever had a student write that. Until today.)
i love this!!! and I literally LOL-ed during this post because I swear that Dan’s favorite thing about new projects is coming up with the next tool that he NEEDS. hahahah.
Pallet wood + mirror = awesome.
Reinforcement so it doesn’t fall, priceless.
Bliss
Love it!
I’m having to be sneakier with my project ideas. Sad. We should compare notes.
AAAAUGH! That’s so fantastic I had to scream in frustration that my husband decided to become a READING teacher instead of a MATH teacher. All he gets to do is point out grammatical errors on my blog posts. Bah. But really, this is amazing!
Wow — this is awesome! And now you’ve left me in the dust as a DIY’er with your pallet wood octagonal mirror and cordless lamps, etc. 🙂
How very validating for Andy — I know who to call for help with my angles now!
xo Heidi
Looks like both parties were satisfied in this project 🙂 Nice work–I love it!
(calling out to intimate partner, nearby)
“Sweetness, you know that old wood pallet out back? I’ve decided to make fire kindling out of it.”
(whispering to self)
“Now that should lower expectations”
!!
The mirror looks great, just like the expensive one! I love a project that is free 🙂
As soon as I saw it, all I could think was OH MY GOD, THAT PROBABLY TOOK MATH. I’m in awe of your thriftiness and your craftiness and your hubby’s mad math skillz. I’ll be honest, I’ve kinda given the whole old pallet thing a miss as I’m not a huge fan but this really came out lovely!! It looks fab with your autumn mantle 🙂 My other half’s the same – if he can get a toy out of it, he’s happy. You should have seen his face when he *had* to get a blowtorch to bend some pipes we hid in the cellar. *rolls eyes*
xxx
This project is awesome! It turned out amazingly, and way to go hubby for coming up with a great solution on how to hang one in front of the other. I love the diamond cut!
OH my goodness — too much work for me, but I would pay you for one!!!!! BEAUTIFul work!
Love this mirror! Great job and awesome tutorial! I’d like to invite you to share it at my party, Twirl & Take a Bow at http://www.houseontheway.com. It would be a great addition to the party.
Leslie
That is amazing. I have nothing else to say. Amazing.
I. Am. Blown. Away. Seriously! Speechless. How amazing talented that picture bombing guy of yours is!
🙂
Linda
any change you could find a spare pallet and handyman to spare? I want that!!!
Looks awesome! You have a very patient and determined husband. Mine would have given up 10 minutes into this project.
It astounds me when I see the price of mirrors. Lucky you to have such a handy hubs! Looks great.
That turned out fantastic! What a great repurposing project and I like yours better than the inspiration. Megan
Awesome! Yours is better than the $348 one!
Love your mirror! Thanks for sharing it at my party. Stop by tomorrow and see it featured! Grab a “House Featured” button too!
Leslie
I love this! So cool! Is it possible to get the angles/measurements that your awesome husband used to make this for those of us that are mathematically/geometrically challenged?
Sure thing! Does this help with the angles?
http://www.diychatroom.com/attachments/f14/29504d1297006319t-angle-cut-octagon-miter-saw-setting.jpg
The outside of each side is about 10 inches. If you have any more questions, let me know! Good luck!
Aaack! Congrats on BOTB! My heart jumped a bit when I saw your mirror there!
xo
cate
How did he cut the groove? What did he use? also, how was the trim cut and attached. I’ve only made very basic frames from pallet wood and have this project pined for the next one.
Thanks!!!
He used his table saw to cut the groove, and just ran it through a bunch of times until it was the right thickness for the mirror. He attached the trim with glue and pin nails. He actually cut the angle of the trim after it was attached to the other piece of the frame, so he could make sure it had exactly the right angle. Hope that helps!
It looks absolutely amazing!! Wouldn’t be able to tell it’s not the original.
Wow….I LOVE how this turned out! And it looks so fabulous on your mantle…so simple and rustic. I would LOVE for you to link this up at my Ginger Jamboree Link Party!!
I love the mirror & idea! Such a unique pallet idea. I really love the “need new toy/tool” line. My hubby is always say that. 🙂 I think we may just have to add this to the “to do list”!
I’m obviously slow on the uptake here, but that mirror turned out amazingly well! Give your husband a big high-five for putting that together.
And I apologize if you’ve answered this somewhere else, but could you tell me where you found that ruffled-edge compote in the last few shots? It’s lovely!
Thank you so much! The ruffled-edge compote came from TJ Maxx a while ago, but they always have a bunch of different versions of them when I drop by, and I have to restrain myself from buying ten at a time. 🙂
Seriously? How have I missed your awesome projects all this time?!
Gracias. Yo estaba buscando informacion acerca de este proyecto y solo en su blog lo pude encontrar.
Again Thank you 🙂
Hi. Maybe I missed this answer, but how did he cut the groove and the mirror?
Here’s info on how he cut the mirror. http://viewalongway.wpengine.com/2012/10/how-to-cut-mirror-or-glass/
I totally want this mirror in my house. And my hubby might even make it for me if it means he can get another toy, I mean tool. Great tutorial!
I just landed on your site 3 times in one day from Pinterest after never landing here before. Let me just say that a) you’re being bookmarked and b) you crack me up. I absolutely love reading your directions and I love your taste. Keep it up, I’m about to go crazy with your crafts!
Seriously, I love this project along with all the rest. But, I have a burning questions. Where do you store all of your stuff?! Do you have room in your garage for your car? Do you have a 300 sf storage unit? A basement filled to the gills? I have *no idea* where I’d store a huge sheet of mirrored glass. I can’t even decide where to put the baby wading pool my SIL gave to my kids this summer…
OH girl. It has been YEARS since we’ve parked in our garage. We have dreams of someday using it for what it’s meant for… but it’s not looking promising. 🙂
Love, love, love the octagon mirror! I searched through your description and all comments, but did not see reference as to what you used for the trim pieces on the outer edge. Did your hubby rout out lumber (what was used) for this part? Thanks for your inspiration! I’d love to build a bigger one. I might have to search for the right salvage lumber or buy new and distress to mimic weathered (wire brush, bleaching, staining, whitewash).
I like that u r trying to show and help others great projects but I got frustrated bc u skipped so many explanations…WHAT TOOL CUTS MIRRORS AND DO YOU NEED SPECIAL GLUE TO HOLD IT, WHAT WERE THE HOLES FOR AND HOW MADE??? What’s a pin nailer and what did use it for? I didn’t see any edging even tho u showed them. U didn’t explain how made or attached. Do the back supports go all the way around the corners??? WHERE COULD I FIND PALLETS SINCE I HAVE NONE? I HIGHLIGHTED THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS IN CASE U COULDN’T ANSWER THEM AKK.OH P.S. IM GOING TO BUY MY FIRST ELECTRIC ROTATING SAW AND AM OVERWHELMED BY THE CHOICES…ANY RECOMMENDATIONS? ALSO ITSZ OBVIOUS THE PALLET WOOD IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT COLOR T HAN THE OLD PALLET WOOD. WHAT DID U DO TO IT? Pps. Sorry if some questions have been asked and answered…I don’t have the patience lol. Thanks for any help you can give a starting DIYer.
This is fabulous!! I love the mirror!! What kind of wood glue did you use to glue the wood to the mirror?