Giant Leaning Mirror

by Sarah K., Hometalk Team

$50

1 Day

Easy

Who here loves West Elm and Restoration Hardware? Who here doesn't always love the West Elm and RH prices? If you're anything like me when I go shopping I spot something I love and then ask myself, "could I easily make that for less?". That's what happened with this mirror. I saw something like it while window shopping but it seriously had a $1,000 price. I knew I could easily figure this out. The hardest part would be finding the materials. I kept my eye out for a large old mirror and found this mirror for $35. It used to be a horizontal bathroom vanity mirror. At that price, I knew I could make this work. I then visitied my local salvage warehouse and picked up this old scaffolding wood for super cheap. Once I assembled the frame I secured the mirror, leaned it against my bedroom wall, looked at myself in the reflection and said, "Nailed It"!

I'm probably a bit biased, but I think this is as pretty as a store bought one!

Materials:

Large Mirror

Thick Reclaimed Wood (mine is 2" x 10")

Sandpaper

Wood glue

Clamp

Sealer/Stain/Polyurethane

Table Saw

Drill

Wood Screws

(4) Metal mending construction plates

Scrap Wood

STEP 1:

Althought reclaimed wood is already beautiful, I still recommend prepping the wood. Once I cut the reclaimed planks to the desiered size (2 @ 1'-8" and 2@7') I got to scrubbing the wood with a TSP and water solution. Once clean and completely dried, I sanded them down using a 120 grit sandpaper. I then wanted to seal my wood but still keep its natural color. I love using Watco Danish Oil and I chose their "natural" option. If you choose to stain and/or apply a finish coat on your wood follow the insturctions on your product's label.

STEP 2:

Now that the wood was cleaned, stained, and cut to size I used some wood glue and a clamp to attach the 4 planks of wood together before securing it with metal mending plates.

STEP 3:

Using 1-1/2" wood screws, I attached mending plates in all four corners of my frame. I was careful to place the plates at a location above where the mirror will sit.

STEP 4:

One it was secured all the way around I stood it up and took it inside to meet its new best friend - my salvaged mirror!

STEP 5:

I carefully lowered the mirror into place. You'll notice the metal plates are out of the way of the mirror. This ensures the mirror is flush to the wood.

STEP 6:

Because I didn't want to spend any uncessary money, I used newer scrap wood I had to act as braces for the mirror. I cut a 1/4" notch in the wood, the thickness of my mirror, so the mirror would have a snug encasement.

STEP 7:

I cut four of these braces in total. Then, I attached them to the back of the frame to hold the mirror in place using wood screws.

STEP 8:

I then stood up my mirror, made sure the glass was snug, and leaned it against the wall in my bedroom. Quick, affordable, and super pretty.

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Frequently asked questions

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2 questions

Joyce Jones on Oct 09, 2016
How did u get 1/4 in groove in boards to drop mirro in

4
KT on Oct 12, 2016
Great job! I love the color of your bedroom, what color is that?

0