Very 70s! I would keep it as is or e lse put it back on the curb. Don't alter it. You will never attain a satisfying result.

For now I'm going to clean it -- there's residue and stickers on the glass, and the frame is dirty.

What is the purpose of the cork squares, are they just decorative or did people post little notes there w/push pins?

I bet it was a bulletin board but too little for my taste. Can remove cork and insert colored glass or tinted mirrors matching your decor. I like the mirror and would paint it white plus add colored glass in the little squares. Great as a hallway mirror, I think it was a gr8 find

Turquoise shag rug, textured sofa with silver filaments woven into the fabric, swag lamp, mai tai... I may be wrong, but the cork boxes might go up top. Decorative only, no pushpins allowed.

I thought of installing hooks in the cork squares to hang keys or purses...DH was skeptical.

Kiminpl--i do like swag lamps ;-)

You could do that, would make it useful awa decorative

For my house, I would paint it all white. You could put a flat piece of wood to cover the corkboard area prior to painting. The cork side definitely goes on top.

Our house is small and extra storage hooks in the entry would be handy!

Depending on how much work you want to do, you might be able to pop off the trim around each box so that the whole area is flush. If the trim is just brad nailed should be easy, if glued then probably not. Then add a piece of wood/plywood to that whole area that will cover the boxes. Then you could paint and add some nice hooks or something more decorative to match your decor.

I'll look more closely at the boxes. I'm pretty sure whatever woodworking might need doing will be me, not dh. When my kids and i arrived home with it, he said "keep it as long as it means you won't complain about the house being too small" (ie we have too much stuff).

KEEP it! With that weight and size, you'll be able to do a number of thing to it that will be beneficial...says the 'girl' who picked up one of similar size after seeing a FREE one listed on Craigslist last year. Mine had stickers on it, too!

Before and After -

I had a mirror like that over my dresser until I moved out, it had been my mom's when she was growing up. Looks great in wood tones!

I like it and if you could figure out a way to cover up the cork and install hooks it could be useful near an entry door to hang keys, hats, jackets, etc. I would paint it too.

I cleaned it up, Looks much better already ;-) It would be perfect in the entry with hooks at the bottom. I can't tell how the inset boxes are attached but there are two separate panels in the back -- one to the mirror and one to the boxes. I'll open the boxes panel and see what's inside...maybe the piece can be reversed and no woodwork necessary!

would a tile fit in the boxes?

I don't think a 4x4 would fit, but maybe. I took a panel off the back and learned the true nature of the cork decoration. Definitely not for pushpins, that cork is a thin veneer over some type of thin wood. I'm leaning toward covering it w/plywood, painting, and attaching hooks!

My first thought was mirrors to fit in the boxes. Secondly was some sort of pictures....maybe scenery, or birds or your family, but think I would prefer the mirrors in the boxes. If it would fit your house better, paint it.

I also think mirrors or colored glass and you can put hooks between boxes

Last night I was at the hardware store & I looked @ hooks. Too many options! I'm leaning toward brass, maybe antique brass, and painting the mirror sky blue :-)

I do not think oak looks good when painted white - the grain often shows through and looks worse. Better to stain it a dark color, if you need to change it. Painting it a dark color is better than painting it white, however.

I also think the boxes should go at the top.

Lars -- do you mean the grain texture is easier to see? I am also considering painting it gloss black, would that have the same grain issue? I dont particularly like the box detail, so plan to cover them with plywood as others suggested prior to painting, then adding brass hooks (less nooks to dust).

Even if we left the boxes intact and hung them at the top, it reminds me of a dresser mirror. Might seem out of place in the entry. However, the age is right for our house, built in 1978 ;-)

I would fill the entire space that has the boxes with - one solid piece of stained to match wood, and then add some nice hooks.

Great example piece!

Im excited about moving forward in this project after the holidays, thanks so much everyone! Right now the mirror is propped against the wall I want DH to hang it, but it's still tall enough my kids have been using it to evaluate their outfits haha!

I used some leftover gel stain espresso on an oak frame mirror. It's actually nice with the slight grain showing through.

I have some dark walnut polyshades. Would the new piece of plywood end up blending in adequately? Otherwise I'm going with black paint.

You'll probably need several coats of the Polyshades to darken it, I'd go with a satin black paint.

The frame reminds me of Craftmans style with the squareness of everything. The cork, I don't get it. It was something else before, is my guess. Would like to see what you end up with. Pretty cool to be green and repurpose. :-)