Why I need to upgrade our builder grade mirror?

We moved into this home with plain mirrors and I wanted to upgrade all of the mirrors. Framing a mirror in a bathroom is great budget project. It’s also a lot easier than pulling the mirror off the wall and replacing it (which still scares me!). I’m at home with two kids. Thankfully one is potty trained, but the other one is just 5 months old. Which means I’ll be changing diapers well into 2021. So I’m in this bathroom A LOT.

The original mirror was just a plain old mirror. It is not help by mirror clips. I think it is glued on.

But it bothered me because the size was so big and added no style to the space. I’ve seen a few folks update their builder grade mirrors with a rustic wooden frame, but I wanted something more classic to go with the modern French style of this bathroom.

So I dreamed up this mirror frame and it came out even better than I thought!

What you need

• Thin trim. Your choice of thickness and material. I used 5/16 inch knotty pine
• Liquid nails. I used Lepage no more nails
• Paint. I wanted a matte finish so I used chaulk paint
• Mitre saw
• Level
• Measuring tape

Let’s get building the outside frame of the mirror

1. Measure your frame and cut the outside of the frame dimensions first

2. Paint all your trim. Paint the back too as it’s reflected in the mirror

3. Apply liquid nails to the back of 1 piece. This stuff is super tacky so you don’t need to go overboard. The trim is thin enough that a thin bead will suffice. If you add too much glue, it will ooze out the sides of the trim and be visible on the mirror or trim

4. Start lining up each piece and use a level to ensure they are straight. Also make sure that it matches up with the outside edge of the mirror.

Build the inside frame of the mirror

1. Cut 2 horizontal pieces that are the same length as the top and bottom of the frame. Glue these to your mirror

2. Measure the distance between the inside top and bottom frame to cut the long vertical pieces. Cut and attach these next.

3. You want to make a square in all the corners, so measure the distance of the vertical trim from each other and cut the small pieces to size. You’ll want an extra few to use as spacers

Closing thoughts

Now every time I go to the bathroom, I love looking at the mirror!! Framing this mirror cost under $60 and took just a couple hours to complete.