How I Framed Our Contractor Grade Bathroom Mirror for Under $25

Jeanne
by Jeanne
6 Materials
$25
2 Hours
Easy
Both our bathrooms had Contractor grade bathroom mirrors. I exchanged the one in the downstairs bath for a mirror that had been on a dresser but the one in the upstairs bath, I decided to frame.
Here is a 'before' picture. The plain mirrors never really bothered me until I saw posts on Pinterest with ideas on how to update them by framing them. I was intrigued and thought I would give it a try.
And another angle of the 'before' picture of the bathroom mirror. I was painting the walls here.


The first decision for this project was what trim to use. I decided on a 3 1/2" baseboard MDF trim. I wanted to give the mirror an nice, hefty look but also didn't want the weight of real wood. I found the trim at Home Depot, one of my favorite places to shop. I bought two 8' pieces for a little over $10 each.
After buying the trim, I used my compound miter saw to cut it into 4 pieces, 2 at 42" and 2 at 36 1/2" then applied two coats of white Behr interior latex paint. I usually prefer latex over oil based paint for the ease of clean up and lack of fumy smells. I used my go-to brush which is a 1" angled trim brush.


This picture shows other pieces that I added to the bathroom, a small table to go over the toilet tank & some towel hangers.
After the paint was dry (another bonus to using latex, fast drying time) the next step was to install the trim on the mirror. Using construction glue - Liquid nails ($2.50 +/-), I ran a bead of the glue on the back of each piece and also on the mirror. Once the trim was in place, hubby held each piece in place while I used painters tape to hold them while the glue dried. 


Let me tell you, this was scary! I was sure I'd wake up in the morning and see the trim laying on the counter top, or worse, still on the mirror but sliding down rendering the mirror useless. How would I get the mirror off that wall at the point?! I even got up a couple of times during the night to check that the trim was still in place....pressed on each piece to ensure they were nice and flat against the mirror; they were. As you can see, I used quite a bit of painters tape - I'm actually surprised I didn't use duct tape - maybe I was out of it at the time. icon
Here is the finished mirror. We just LOVE it! Since updating the mirror, I have seen many other styles - ones that don't include using a miter saw. One of my favorite looks is one that uses the decorative blocks that you can purchase at Lowes, Home Depot or Michaels. I use those on the trim around my doors and that look would have been fun to have around the mirror.


This is a quick project (especially if you use the little blocks in the corners - although, that would add to the cost) and it makes a big impact on the look of your bathroom!


Even though I used MDF in the bathroom, it has held up well. I wondered how it would do since we tend to take steamy showers with the door shut.
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Jeanne
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 5 questions
  • Joan Stanley Joan Stanley on Jan 14, 2020

    Are the trim boards flat on the back or notched to fit over the edge of the mirror?

    I've wanted to do this but not sure of the type of trim to buy.

  • Douglas Douglas on Jan 15, 2020

    I have the round mirror attachments that are on the corners of my mirror. I'm thinking that the mirror itself is attached to the wall. I know I would have to take them off to have the framing flushed. Any ideas on how to check if the mirror is attached or not. I don't want the mirror come crashing down of I remove the attachments to be able to attach the framing. Thanks for any information or suggestions any of you have.

  • HFredda HFredda on Feb 09, 2020

    Courtney:


    Really nice job! 👏


    Hiw does a *square brick turn a round corner*?


    Step-by-step info for *Corner-Turning*, please Courtney? 🙏🙂

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 21 comments
Next