Thanks all for your comments. I do have one other word of advice. Before you adhere the wood to the mirror, I used liquid nails, ensure the wood is stained on the back as you can see the reflection of the bare wood in the mirror. I am using braided rope accent to mask this but will know better for my guest bathroom!. All in all it was about $200 and 15 hours worth of work. The wood I got was all from Lowes and much of the shelf wood came in plastic and was precut, (at least the sides and
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back). We cut the shelves from similar wood also purchased at Lowes. If anyone is interested I am willing to go into more detail but specific questions are easier than me generalizing. Thanks again for all of the encouragement.
I would love anymore info you can give on your project, I am especially interested in how you made the shelving unit and how you factured the backsplash area of the countertop and built the unit around it.
Rachael. my brother and I built the shelving unit first and then designed the rest around it. The sides and back came pre-cut and pre-packaged as individual pieces from Lowes. We then bought the same type wood to cut out the bottom and shelves and top. This wood was not packaged but came in individual sheets that were near the packaged stuff. I knew I would be staining so for the frame pieces and actually all pieces I made sure I bought stain grade wood. There is no plywood of any kind.
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The key is not to overthink it. My brother and I literally laid the wood on the floor in Lowes how we thought it would go onto the mirror and into a shelf. I am 33 in the Navy and my brother is 21 in college. We have a combined carpentry skill of what you see in the pictures. The corners of the mirrors with the medallions come pre-made in the moulding aisle. We just kind of picked them up thinking they could add a little something to the look of it. The braided wood interior to the frames also comes in 8 ft sections I think and I just cut them and stained (Brown Mahogany) to match the stain on my other cabinets. The stain was a bit tricky as I was trying to match the color perfectly. I actually stained and sanded and re-stained to get it right, In all of the joints I used wood putty so no cracks could be seen and sanded them down before staining. I had to use the braided rope because I failed to stain the underside of the frame pieces and you could see bare wood in the reflection. Ensure you stain all sides. I am glad I made the mistake because I had to add the interior braided wood and I would not have done so otherwise. Also ensure whatever adhesive you use on the wood to adhere it to the mirror is clear because you will also be able to see that, Any other questions feel free to ask. Oh yeah, we cut a notch in the bacl of the shelf and the shelf actually butts up flush to the mirror and the granite. I then secured the top with a 1x6 to a stud in the drywall. Also I didn't have the chop or miter saw to make the joints needed that you see in the crown and base moulding. Lowes also carried pre-fabricated joints that allows your moulding to slide into. This is what gives the corners of the shelf their dominant look. Also another thing that worked out because we had bought the right moulding which just by chance happened to match the joints.
This is something I've wanted to do for the three years we have lived in our home. I could never quite get my husband to understand my idea so when this appeared on Pinterest, I was able to show him the plans AND the finished product. He had his "a-ha" momment and we are putting this in our bathroom. Don't you just love the Internet and social blogs?
Great job and keep up the incentive. I personally do not like the added center cabinet. It makes it dark and claustrophobic to me.... but that is personal taste and not in any way a down for your work and creative ability. WTG and good for you to do all that work your self. Kudos!
Steven P, I saw this question in an earlier post and may have missed your reply. Would you mind answering this again please? Did you have to cut into the shelving unit to account for the backsplash? Or did the thickness of the mdf cover the gap between the mirror and the unit?
Laura, I did have to cut a notch in the back of the shelving unit, remember all we used was a skill saw and hand sander so it wasn't oo difficult, I will post a pic here in a moment of what we did. I had to use wood filler also.
Thank you for posting the close up pic ^ showing the notch to accomodate the backsplash. Your unit looks great and definitely increased your resale value considerably. To Sheryll S--I plan on making our mirror frame & shelving unit white, which would make the room less dark. This is the link to the white version: http://www.hometalk.com/activity/4857
Steven....hats off to you. So many bathrooms have these extra large mirrors with no character. You made yours look like it came from the Thomasville collection. I can't wait to show it to my daughter who has double sinks with a mirror just like this one. Great job!!!! This is one reason why I LOVE HOMETALK. We get to share ideas.
Yes and thanks to Joy L. I like that room much better. The colors, the staging (presentation) of finished room. One thing I reccomend is to stain or paint your shelving uinit and boards first, then spackle and do paint touch ups. And that guy had to move the electric wires... yikes, much harder to do in my opinion. I don't like doing plumbing or electric work.
Sheryll S--I forgot that they had to move the wiring for the lighting on the white frame. We are fortunate in that our lighting is already placed in the correct spots. I would like to put in an electrical outlet in the shelving unit, which will up our "degree of difficulty" on this project. Ha! We already put in a dimmer switch for the lights, which is WONDERFUL! Getting ready after a shower in a bathroom bathed in Texas heat and humidity doesn't need any help from full strength
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lighting.
As for the darker frame by Steven P,--After all the work he put into it by staining the wood, I'd keep the dark wood and change the wall colors to lighten up the room. I think the wood would really *pop* if he decides to do that some day. No matter what you do, the framing makes this standard builder mirror a whole lot better!
Joy L, yes, I agree with you about the lighter walls and keep the pretty stained wood trim on this dark framed one. Dimmer switches are great to me too. But since I replaced all with those new bulbs, they don't get hot like the old ones and I love the way they make a bathroom look like natural sunlight.... LOVE that. Please show us your room when you finish. I am planning to some time soon do the crown molding on top of my bath mirrors and frame them as well. If you want some really
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Hi Steven this bathroom looks screaming good love it and wished I could do it with my bathroom also . Me and my hubby can do alot together IF we have the correct Items list and how to do it step by step . If you don't mind and I know it might take a litte time could you write a whole list on exactly what you bought on items and a step by step instructions list I know I probaly been asking alot but wish we can make this amazing change with our bathroom also . Thank you so much Steven awesome job you both did .
As for the darker frame by Steven P,--After all the work he put into it by staining the wood, I'd keep the dark wood and change the wall colors to lighten up the room. I think the wood would really *pop* if he decides to do that some day. No matter what you do, the framing makes this standard builder mirror a whole lot better!
I hope that works, cause I don't see it hyperlink.... so try copy and pasting it.