Well, well, well … it took me FAR too long to update my bathroom mirrors. For years I’ve settled with the plain mirror and I have NO CLUE why I didn’t go ahead and frame them in earlier. I mean, it’s super easy to make a DIY bathroom mirror frame that we should all be doing it!
And as a bonus … it’s super cheap to do! I spent about $25 on mine and it made the bathroom look soooo much better.
Starting your DIY bathroom mirror frame
First thing I did was measure the mirror so I knew how much wood I would need. Then, I got in my “rig”, aka minivan, and headed to Home Depot. I wasn’t sure quite what type of wood I would want, so I perused the aisles for available options. I landed on primed MDF case molding. It was a flat, straight piece and already primed was a bonus!
I also grabbed some liquid nails…the kind that specifically says it’s for mirrors. Definitely make sure you grab the right one by checking out the label. Then, I headed home to officially start the mirror framing transformation.
Options, options, options!
When framing a bathroom mirror, you have many options. You can do a typical frame with angled cuts or straight framing where you place one piece across the full length of the top and bottom and then the sides in between.
You can also get stain quality wood and stain it to your choosing or paint it your trim color or any other color complimentary to the room the mirror is in (you can frame any mirror!).
Choosing my frame color
I had just painted the kid’s bathroom Rainwashed from Sherwin Williams and updated the décor, which I’ll showcase more of in a future post! I had some Peppercorn paint from Sherwin on hand and thought it would make an awesome contrast in the bathroom. However, I didn’t want it to just be solid Peppercorn.
So….I did my cool painting trick. First, I painted the back of the frame in Peppercorn. Ok, so I didn’t paint the back first … I wish I did, but my instructions will now be to paint the back first. Definitely learned my lesson that the back is critical to paint, as it will show some reflection in the mirror. I was fine with solid Peppercorn for the back, since it really didn’t need to be fancy.
| Pro tip: If your paint creates a ‘ledge’ on the other side, just use sandpaper to sand it down. |
Next, I painted the front of the frame pieces white and let it dry. Make sure to prime before painting if the piece you are using isn’t pre-primed!
Once the white coat dried, I layered on the peppercorn paint. I waited about 2-3 minutes and grabbed an old rag and wiped off the paint. Not a full wipe off, just grazing the top to remove some of the paint and to leave a cool look. It turned out amazing and rustic and had a modern farmhouse feel. This is exactly what a DIY bathroom mirror frame should look like!
Placing the DIY bathroom mirror frame
After all the painting was done, we were ready to place the frame. But first, make sure to wash your mirror! Definitely don’t want little fingerprints or anything near where the edge would be … it may drive you nuts if you can never get it off after placing the frame!
Back to the frame! We started with the piece that would be against the wall on the far left side and put our Liquid Nails on the back. Make sure to not put on too much so it doesn’t smoosh across the mirror as you place it!
We did the same for all four pieces and used painter’s tape to hold it in place while it set. We were almost done, we just had to wait to remove the tape. After about an hour, the tape was ready to be removed!
To caulk or not to caulk
Because of the finish I did on the paint, I didn’t find it necessary to caulk the joints. If I had painted it a solid color, I would have caulked the joints in paintable caulk and then touched up the paint after that dried. It just wasn’t necessary for the look and feel of this frame … and will save you time!
The Reveal!
I wiped up the mirror one more time and cleaned up my workspace and took a look at this awesome frame! Didn’t the frame turn out amazing! It really made the bathroom stand out! You can see the before and after and how much of an impact simply adding this DIY bathroom mirror frame can have!
Before and After!
Easy follow steps
Here are the steps I took for my DIY bathroom mirror frame:
- Measure Mirror
- Select frame materials (I used MDF Case molding)
- Cut to size (Home Depot or Lowe’s can cut for you!)
- Paint the back and sides (the back reflects!)
- Paint the front (or leave natural & stain)
- Liquid nails the back of the frame
- Place pieces
- Hold in place with painter’s tape
- Remove tape
- Apply touchup paint as needed
All in all …
As I said, this frame cost me about $25. I already had the paint on hand, all I had to purchase was the frame pieces and the liquid nails. Super low cost for the high impact it made in my bathroom. I’m now thinking of what I can do in the master bathroom in the future … I know I want to frame it, but also want to add in some shelving. Hmmm, I smell a future project!
Anyway, how do you think it turned out? Is there a mirror you’d like to frame in your house? Let me know in the comments below … and subscribe to my blog so you never miss a post!
Be blessed!
