How to Frame a Builder-Grade Mirror

Happy spring day to you, dear friends! I spent yesterday morning out in the garage finishing a project that has been on the to-do list for years. The weather was gorgeous and the baby took a long nap – hallelujah!

I’ve had the stuff to finish this project for months now. I’ve recently gone on a mission to wrap up old projects that have fallen by the wayside. So, here’s project numero uno on that list!

Ok, so I know that this project has been done by every other home DIY blogger out there. It’s totally 2008. But it’s such a good one that I HAD to do it for myself and just for kicks, I’ll share it with you. Just in case you’re still behind the times like me. 🙂

I give you: how to frame a builder-grade mirror. SUCH an easy project, but makes a huge impact when it comes to customizing your home. When we gutted our old house, we put actual mirrors over our vanities in the bathrooms. I loved the look. And super don’t love the look of a plain, clipped-to-the-wall, builder-grade mirror.

Spring Printable in the reflection is courtesy of Short Stop Designs

It’s so simple, it’s silly, but just in case you want to know, here’s how I did mine. With a little trial and error, too. So, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.

Tools needed:
– molding the length of the perimeter of your mirror
– miter saw or hand saw and miter box
– wood glue
– duck tape
– spray paint
– chisel
– hammer

I started off with a couple of long pieces of molding from the home improvement store. I measured my mirror and marked off my cut lines on my boards. I cut them at 45° angle. If you don’t have a miter saw, then a hand saw and miter box will work just fine!

Once I finished this step, the cut boards stood in the corner of my guest room closet for about 9 months. (Yes, the time it takes to grow and birth a baby – makes sense, I guess, since that’s what I was doing instead of finishing little side projects.)

A big mental block for me was how to get the frame flush without removing the mirror clips. I decided to try to notch out the back of the boards. I marked off the spot on the back of the boards, and then scored a box using an exact knife.

Then I took my chisel and hammered out a space bigger than the size of the clips. It worked great! (I never thought I would need a chisel, but I’ve surprisingly used this one several projects!)

Then I tried to figure out the best way to attach them to each other at the corners. I started off my trying liquid nails. I “clamped” the boards together with some duck tape and left them overnight. When I came back the next morning, all but one joint wasn’t stuck together. I think my liquid nails was old and I didn’t want to buy anything new for this project. Bummer.

So, then I tried to use my kreg jig and screw the joints together. No go there. The boards were too thin for that to work.

I finally went back to the drawing board and just used wood glue to glue the corners together and used duck tape to “clamp” them overnight. Worked like a charm!! Yay! (I had to sit some heavy objects on each corner to make sure they were flush when the glue dried.)

Then I spray painted the back first (since you can see a little reflection on the back side in the mirror). Then flipped it and painted the front with white spray paint. I like this brand of spray paint the best!

I let it dry and then put it on the mirror. My mirror is the width of the bathroom walls, so I almost couldn’t get it in there because I made it just the same size as the mirror. If yours is like this, I would recommend making your frame just slightly smaller in width than the walls. I had to force mine to go in. And since it had to be forced in there, I didn’t adhere it to the wall/mirror in any way.

Want to paint your cabinets? Get my tutorial here.

I was planning on using command strips, though, since I don’t like to do anything permanent in case a future owner wanted to take it down. I’ve seen people use anything from hot glue to liquid nails to keep the frame up there.

Next up: making one for my bathroom. Although I think I may try to get a little fancier with that one. I’ll share it when I get it done – probably a year from now. Ha!

Have you ever done this?

Is it on your to-do list?

(If not, it should be!)

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