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A woman managed to save around $2,700 by creating a DIY version of a luxury mirror from Gustaf Westman, the Swedish architect turned designer.
The DIY mirror inspired by the original "curvy mirror" from Westman, currently priced at €2,400 (around $2,635) at Westman's studio website, was created by TikToker Luena Gama (@luenagamaa), a 28-year-old digital creator based in Brighton, England.
Gama told Newsweek she recently decided to "take a break from a career in law to pursue ceramics full-time." The DIY mirror, which cost less than $300 to make, was something she'd worked on during the recent Easter break.
She shared a viral clip of her making the DIY mirror on TikTok, where it received over 185,000 views at the time of writing.
Home decor purchases saw an "unprecedented" increase in popularity last year, according to a survey of 46,118 homeowners in the United States aged 18 and older, conducted by Houzz, a home design website. This includes 24,667 people who renovated their homes in 2022
Mirrors were among the top home decor-related purchases made by renovating homeowners, with more than a third (39 percent) reported to have bought a mirror in 2022.
Gama said she's always been a fan of Westman as a designer, whose colorful and playful designs have gone viral on social media.
"His bold use of colors and approach to function and construction is just so fun. I am slowly building my collection of Gustaf Westman small objects actually," she said, adding that "where possible," she loves purchasing items "directly from and supporting creators."
However, when all fails—"and by all, I mean my bank account," Gama said—she turns her hands to DIY. "From colorful shelves to tile cubes and consoles. You name it and I have probably tried my hand at it."
The total cost of her DIY Gustaf Westman-inspired mirror amounted to £201 (around $250.50), including the tools.
"The original Gustaf Westman curvy mirror is £2,400 (around $2,991)," Gama said. "This is without counting shipping, handling fees and import tax because [of]...Brexit. So I saved approximately £2,199 (around $2,741)."
Below is the full price breakdown of the materials purchased by Gama to create her DIY Gustaf Westman-inspired mirror:
- Wood: £30 (around $37)
- Can of paint from Valspar: £22 (around $27). The mirror required only three coats, according to Gama.
- Industrial glue: £5 (around $6)
- Nails: £2 (around $2.50)
- Jigsaw: £27 (around $34)
- Drill set from Ikea: £25 (around $31)
- Repurposed old Ikea mirror: £127 (around $158). The mirror cost £90 ($112) at the time of purchase.
Gama's viral video was posted with a caption that read "Gustaf bestie, please don't sue me. Decided to do a little DIY for Easter and this is how it turned out."
The clip showed her carefully drawing a curvy border to mimic the original mirror, around the perimeter of a large board of wood. Later, she used a jigsaw tool to carve out the curvy inner frame of the mirror. She appeared to sand the edges of the mirror down before it was painted bright blue and attached to a mirror.
The latest video has impressed and inspired TikTok users.
One commenter named Angel said that Gama's finished product "looks better" than the original mirror, while TikTok user orethaateboh called it "creative and lovely."
TikToker Alicia Akrie wrote, "Now I have another project," and user @uphillhealin agreed, saying "Y'all gon have me busy this summer with these diy projects."
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About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more