DIY Easy Mirror Frame Project
This project, as easy as it is, has been in the works for a really long time. Before we even renovated our basement bathroom, I was working on ideas to give our upstairs bathroom a facelift. Here’s one easy project that you can do in a day to upgrade just about any mirror using unlikely supplies.
Materials You’ll Need
- Baseboard/trim wood
- Tape Measure
- Speed Square
- Miter Saw/Circular Saw
- Safety glasses and ear plugs
- Nails
- Hammer or nail gun
- Paint or stain of your choice + brushes
- Sandpaper (optional)
- Wood putty
- Mirror!
Before (Unframed Mirror)
This mirror came with the house. It looks like they attached it with some type of heavy duty clips. It also looked like a pain in the tail to remove. It’s a nice size for over the twin sinks and would probably cost a lot to find another mirror that size.
So the verdict was in to keep the existing mirror. A trip to the hardware store later and I have a giant piece of unfinished baseboard trim. I believe I got a 10′ piece of pine trim for $8 or $9. It was quite a show carrying that thing around.
Then I got to work with my favorite mint milk paint.
I gave it two coats of paint, then after it was fully dried, sanded it along the ridges by hand with a coarse-grit piece of sandpaper.
Lastly, I sealed it with a clear layer of furniture wax after it was sanded in all the right places.
Measuring and Cutting the Mirror Frame
You can see here that the board I chose tapers in width. I wanted to use the thick side for the inside. It’s the same thickness as the mirror, so I can run the thick part right up against the mirror and the frame will slant out to the wall.
Using the tape measure, we measured each side of the bathroom mirror. (For us it was 4′ height and 2’6″ width.) Then, we marked out the distance from the thicker side where to make the first cut. Using the speed square, we measured and marked our exact cut line at 45° angles.
Of course, we could have simply cut the board straight across to make a butt joint (hehehe), but we wanted the corners (90° angles) to look good so we made each board come together at a 45°. Hello geometry! Never my favorite subject.
How to cut a 45° angle, you ask? We used this 10″ compound slide miter saw. It’s a little old, but it got the job done.
It pivots to different angles, so you can make any number of angled cuts. Just rotate the blade for whatever angle you want! Please promise to read the instructions first and be sure to wear your safeties.
It helped to cut each piece, one at a time, and take it to the mirror to measure for exact fit. The fourth and final piece of the puzzle is the most important, so I’d highly recommend making sure it’s measured perfectly before making the final cut.
Joe showed me how to use the miter saw. Not going to lie, I felt pretty proud of myself. Drunk on power. I have no problem using it unsupervised anymore. I’m feeling eager to learn some other tools now too. Super empowered and inspired by this blogger lately. She knows her tools. I am about to read her book and explore the family’s youtube series documenting her DIY home in Alaska.
Back to the mirror frame – Now that we’ve got our nice 45° corner cuts (and a bunch of little leftover triangles), we can start putting it all together!
Mirror Installation
In my mind, we would simply wood glue all the corners together. Joe had a better idea called the nail gun. The nail gun still scares me a little bit. I think it’s mostly any tool that requires the air compressor for power. Still intimidating, but I will tackle it some day soon. Eek.
First, we made sure all the pieces fit together nicely. Then I held up two at a time while Joe nailed the boards straight into the wall.
Boom. Easy as that.
Once you’re finished, fill in the nail holes and corner grooves with a matching wood putty. You can see this matches pretty well with the original wood color. Even so, save a little paint to go over the putty to blend everything together seamlessly. Or leave it as is. It looks great either way!
Finished DIY Baseboard Mirror
That’s it! This project should only take you a couple hours.
We’re really happy with how it turned out. It makes the mirror and the whole room look bigger. It brings focus to the mirror. Before it looked like an afterthought slapped onto the wall. Now it has some character and charm that matches the rest of the bathroom.
Here’s a quick before and after shot of the lower righthand corner of the mirror. If you have a boring and frameless mirror, this is such a simple and inexpensive way to make it look amazing. Little upgrade = huge effect
Bathroom Takeover
I have to be honest, as much as I love our new downstair shower, I am thrilled that I get the entire upstairs bathroom mostly to myself now. The boys always shower downstairs, so that leaves the upstairs bath tub all mine for the reclaiming! I grew up with only one bathroom my whole life, so it still amazes me to have not one, but two options. I know, I’m an easy girl to please… I’ll choose a hot bath over a shower any day (time permitting). Now this is what I get to look at from my bathtub view.
I’d like to think some of my best ideas happen here 🙂
Ahhh. Give me a book and glass of wine and I’m set.
Upstairs bathroom, look out. We’re coming for you next. Eventually the tile needs to be replaced, and I’m dreaming of new paint colors.
Don’t tell Joe, but I dropped/spilled a whole bottle of hot pink nail polish all over the bathroom vanity! Ugghh. Not my finest move. This is what it looks like now 🙁 He hasn’t said anything, so I’m hoping to repaint it soon. I’m banking on the fact that he doesn’t read this far down the page.
I was going to use the original paint color and do a quick touchup, but now I’m seeing this as an opportunity to try a different color. Mint milk paint to match? Silver? Distressed? Floral? Something else?
