My BFF Kerry, and I just finished framing her bathroom mirror. It’s definitely one of my favorite DIY project so far! I have seen moulding put on builder grade mirrors before, but we took this one a little farther. What a difference it made in that room!
Here’s a tutorial on how we did it: (The total cost of the project and the supplies we used are listed at the bottom of the page.)
First, we measured and miter cut the trim (measure TWICE and cut once!) then taped it into place to check out the fit. There’s nothing like miter cuts coming together perfectly! A hand miter box would have worked fine, but I used an electric saw for this project. (Don’t forget to get your level out and check that each piece is straight (level).
Test fitting
The mirror is attached to the wall with clips, which would not allow the trim to lay flat against the mirror. Not wanting to remove the clips and adhere the mirror directly to the wall, we marked the back of the trim where the clips would be and chiseled out a piece of wood. This was done (carefully) by scoring the wood with a utility knife and then using a chisel and hammer to tap out the pieces of wood. It worked great!
This is what the back of the trim looked like.
Next, we glued the back of the trim and put it directly on the mirror. The frame alone looked good, so we could have stopped there. But why? ; )
Used two rows of tile all the way around.
Tiling went surprisingly fast. Kerry put a line of glue on the mirror and I peeled off each tile to give to her. We glued them side by side so no grouting was necessary.) This time I didn’t count how many tiles we put on the mirror by hand, one by one by one. I didn’t want to know!
Almost done!
Once the tiles were dry (we waited impatiently over the weekend), the small trim piece of moulding was measured, miter cut and glued to the mirror. I don’t have a “before” picture of the moulding, but it’s just a thin decorative moulding from HomeDepot. It finishes off the tile perfectly! (FYI, Kerry had the outer moulding and the inner moulding painted before we started the project.)
My pictures don’t do the mirror justice. It looks amazing!
A mirror like this would cost hundreds of dollars in a store!
Here is the breakdown of what was spent: Total $51.91
Household Goop Tube $4.57
1/2 inch mosaic tile 8 at $2.94 (23.52)
8 ft., 1/2″ molding trim 2 at $3.98 (7.96)
8 ft., 1 1/4″ molding trim 2 at $7.93 (15.86)
The home improvement stores have so many beautiful tiles. The design possibilities are countless. (Yes, my mind is spinning!) I loved this project so much, I’m going to put all my ugly builders mirrors BACK up! I hope you enjoyed.
