A creative mum who couldn't face paying the £3,500 price tag for her dream shell mirror has made her own for a bargainous £55 - and you can barely tell them apart.
Lisa O'Sullivan from Poole, Dorset, trawled Pinterest for decorating inspo last year and eventually found her ideal gold feature for her dining room wall.
The only problem? She couldn't afford it.
The golden Scallop Shell Round Mirror designed by Nate Ricketts was available for a hefty £3,572 ($4,499).
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With lockdown giving Lisa time for a project, the thrifty 50-year-old set about making her own for a snip of the price.
Handily, she was given some spare MDF wood from friends, along with over 60 shells (you could buy these from Amazon or Etsy). All that was left to buy was gold spray paint, a £15 mirror from Amazon and some wall brackets plus extra-long screws.
The part-time admin worker built the mirror in a layered or 'wedding cake' style. First, she measured how big she'd need to make the tiers, before a DIY-savvy mate helped cut them out with their jigsaw.
Lisa then spray-painted the shells outside, and used a glue gun she already had to stick them to the to three circular tiers.
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She added small shells to fill the gaps and spray painted the whole design to cover any excess glue.
Lisa calls the piece a 'labour of love', and it's racked up a lot of praise online.
Talking about the project, Lisa said: "When I saw it on Pinterest about a year ago I'd just searched for a gold mirror and I found that one.
"I thought 'oh, I'd love one of them', but there's no way I'd ever pay that much for a mirror.
"With lockdown, we've finally got around to decorating the dining room, so the idea came back into my head and I thought 'I reckon I could make that'.
"I like doing crafty things, but having kids you don't always have the time, so I've done a few bits like recycling bits of furniture and the mirror matches those.
"I just looked at it and had to try to work out how I could make it, because there was nothing that told me how to do it. It's been a labour of love.
"I'd say it cost £55 altogether, but if I hadn't been given the shells and the wood then it probably would have been around £120."
It took Lisa, husband Andy O'Sullivan, 50, and his son Harry O'Sullivan, 25, to lift the 20kg mirror into place. They had to flip the structure, attach the fittings and mount it on the wall.
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It's so high that Lisa can't even see into it. But she doesn't mind.
Lisa said: "I'm only 5ft 2in and my husband's 6ft 4in, so he's probably the only person in the house who can actually see in the mirror.
"He's laughing his head off saying 'you put this mirror up and you can't even see in it', but it's not meant to be a mirror it's more a feature and a piece of art."
When Lisa posted her creation to a DIY Facebook page, members couldn't believe how professional it looked.
One member wrote: "That's the best lockdown project I've ever seen. Well done!"
Another chimed in: "Wow, it's identical. Well done... It's lovely x."
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While a third said: "Prefer yours to the one in the picture!"
A month on from its completion, Lisa's hefty artwork is still holding strong to the wall.
Lisa said: "I've been thinking, 'are those fixings going to hold', but if I hear a big bang in the night and it falls off I'm not making another one."
Nate Ricketts, who designed of the original mirror, said: "It is so uplifting to hear of someone using their time stuck in lockdown to create a beautiful work of art."I am truly flattered that she chose to use my design to create something wonderful for her home. It means a lot to me that my work can inspire other artists. I feel honoured that I am able to spread joy through my art, and I'm encouraged to see others do the same."
We can't get over how good the final piece looks. Bravo Lisa!
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Topics: Mum, Home, DIY, Life, Interiors