Custom Framed Mirror

Forgive me for my absence! I have been completely inundated with work lately. But, it took me to Vegas for three days, so how can I complain? I am barely just catching up with sleep. I’m a nine hour sleeper, so when I start only getting four or five hours of sleep at night, it ruins me. But now that I’m back to reality, hopefully my body will get there with me J

So, this is a dumb thing to wish, but when we first moved into our house I wished that the builders didn’t put up any mirrors. I am not a fan at all of builder-grade mirrors that lack any dimension or character in the least. But alas, they did. And so I was stuck with them.

I know, I know, I could have pulled them down and put ones I liked back up in its place, but then that would be wasteful, both with money and materials. So, for years now, ever since we moved in, I’ve been wanting to change the darn things. I’ve been making frames for ages now, so I figured that would be the most cost effective way to change the mirrors for cheap. And now, two years later, blogland has also decided that’s the easiest way! There are tutorials everywhere on how to do it. So, here’s mine:

Materials:
Casing (enough to fit around mirror) My mirror was 3’x2’
Miter saw
Paint
Painters tape
Waterproof Silicone

The reason I chose casing instead of decorative molding or baseboards was because they are meant to frame things, i.e. doors. So the edges are already rounded and finished plus I loved the look of it better than any other thing at the store J

So first off, I painted the casing. Front and back. Its important to paint the back or at least the top inch of the back because you will see it in the reflection of the mirror.

Next, I measured three feet on two of the pieces and two feet on the other pieces and used those measurements as the longest edges. I used my miter saw from there, cutting the pieces at 45 degree angles.

Before I attached the casing to the mirror, I taped it up first to make sure the measurements and angles were correct.

Next, I took the silicone and applied it to the back side of the casing. Making sure to stay an inch away from the top (the top referring to the casing that was going to be on the inside of the frame) as to not see the silicone in the mirror reflection –even though it was clear.

And finally, after placing the casing piece by piece on the mirror, I secured it with painters tape for a couple of hours.

After two years of waiting for something different other than a boring ol’ builder-grade mirror, I finally have it!


And now that my husband trusts me, I’ll be off to finishing off all the mirrors in our house J

 But until then...here's a peak at my next project:
Oiy....oh boy.

Alicia

13 comments

  1. Oh you creative thing!! That looks fabulous!

    I'm intrigued by your next project, looking forward to it! :)

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  2. The frame makes the bathroom look so much more elegant. I can't wait to see you next project!

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  3. Very nice! I love the way it looks. Good for you! :)

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  4. It looks great! I want to steal this idea!

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  5. I love it! Want to try it myself. Do you have a side view picture? Is there a gap between the frame and the wall?

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  6. Love what you did! I totally need to try this. I felt the same way when we moved into our home, I wished they hadn't put up those builder basic mirrors but I love how you transformed yours.Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  7. I love it. Really all the decor I love and am afraid to do-no, I dont' know why! Maybe I am just lazy but you are sooo fab!

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  8. I've been dying to do this to my mirrors, and I have finally found a great way. Thanks for sharing! I love the result :-)

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  9. I also very much dislike my construction-standard mirrors! :( Instead of buying new ones, I'm going to do this! Genius! :) Thank you!

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  10. I've been wanting to do this project for some time now! My question is that when you put your casing up, did you take off the clear hangers that they installed around the sides of the mirror to hold it up? I'm worried that if I take mine off my mirror will fall and didn't think the casing will sit flush to the wall if I don't.

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happy DIYing! Alicia