Hey there! I just put together this mirror in about an hour and it only cost me $15!
I love the simplicity to it! Here’s how you can make your own:)
DIY Mirror
I purchased this Mainstay door mirror from Wal-Mart for $5. I had to do a little demolition on the cheap, plastic trim that was glued to it.
I started by ripping off the paper backing.
I then used a utility knife to cut the glue (it seemed to be close to a hot glue consistency). Make sure that you cut where the glue and the trim meet.
Now this is the part that is very important. The trim will come off very easily and without cracking the mirror if you pull it away from the mirror. Do NOT try to bend it away from the mirror from front to back. Just pull it away.
After I removed the trim I cleaned the mirror with a little Windex:)
Now for the frame:
If you have never owned a saw, this is the perfect tool for you to purchase!
It will make this project so easy and it is the perfect starter saw if you are interested in building!
I purchased 2 1×4 white wood boards and cut down 4 pieces with 45 degree angles at each end to build the frame.
2 @ 48″ (long point to long point)
2 @ 1 7 1/4″ (long point to long point)
This was the fun part for me because it was soooo easy:) I flipped the boards over so that the bad sides were showing and glued the frame together with Gorilla Glue wood glue. To keep them together while the dried, I used my staple gun (purchased years ago at Hobby Lobby). It worked like a charm!
After the glue was dry, I flipped the frame over and stained it with Rust-Oleum dark walnut stain. I let one coat sit for about 10 minutes!
For the final step, I attached the mirror to the back of the frame with Liquid Nails (I applied the liquid nails to the back of the frame (edges closest to the middle) and laid the mirror on top of it). A little goes a long way.
I decided to prop it up next to my Pottery Barn Inspired Media Console🙂
I just love easy and cheap projects! $15 and 1 hour for a decorative mirror is a steal:) And the versatility is endless! I would love one hanging on a wall in my house or even over my mantle!
If you love this I would LOVE your pins;)
Thank you:)
Also, be sure to keep up with the Shanty Sisters on Facebook!
Ashley
Hi! I want to attempt this! You mentioned purchasing a saw, is there one you recommended for beginners?!? I’m kind of intimidated by that tool ?
Is the Liquid Nails still holding strong after 8 years? I’m planning to do this and hang it on the wall and would hate for the glue to let go of the frame and have it crash down!
Absolutely love it! I have a mirror just like that, now I know what I’m doing with it. Thank you for your inspiration.
Hi do you think it’s possible to make the sides even thicker to give the illusion that the mirror is bigger? I mean it looks fabulous as it is but I can’t afford those full size huge mirrors which I think would look great in any room just leaning up against the wall so I was wondering do you think the glue would hold if the would you added were wider? What do you think? Great job!
Love this! Thank you for the link to the mitre box too! I’ve been trying to figure out what I could get to help with my DIY stuff, but didn’t want to spend too much money! This was perfect!
Love this mirror idea, and I’m totally using your tips for the one hanging on the door in my guest room. Has it been secure all this time? It seems that just using glue on the edges doesn’t make the the mirror stay put especially if it’s leaning. Just checking if you’ve since had to reinforce it with anything else.
I’m not sure what I did wrong here but my frame is way to small for my mirror 🙁
Can you show me a close up of what size mirror you bought? I thought I got the exact same one from Walmart but apparently not. Please help!
It looks great! I am so proud of myself! I followed the instructions step by step and it worked perfectly! I did this in my NYC studio apartment! If I could do this here, you can do it anywhere! Thanks so much!
what did you use to attach your mirror to the wall? will there be enough overlap to use something like a d ring?
This was such a fun project and mine turned out AMAZING……..EXCEPT FOR ONE THING………The instructions given did not mention anything about STAINING the BACK OF THE WOOD FRAME…so of course, I did not stain the back. THEN, when everything was complete I was horrified to see that the BACK SIDE of the wood that the mirror was glued to was REFLECTING the image of the UNSTAINED WOOD! OMG..I didn’t even think of this happening but it makes total sense that it did! BUT NOW WHAT?? It was glued on WAY TOO GOOD to try to take off and stain the back and reassemble….so I came up with an idea! I leaned the mirror against the wall and took a paintbrush and brushed some more stain into the space between the frame and the mirror on the lower edge – hoping gravity would help get that stain down in there good…and THANK GOD! IT WORKED!!! You can see in this picture the left side of the frame shows theback of the wood reflecting and the bottom is where I put stain into the space to stain the backside. OVERALL LOVED THIS PROJECT AND WILL DO MANY MORE! But i will stain the back edge of my wood next time 🙂
OMG I’m SO glad I decided to read through the comments! I plan on doing this this week and I probably wouldn’t have thought of that problem. Smart thinking to make the stain drip into place!
yes! reading the comments have saved me on many projects thats why I made sure I made this comment, hoping it would help someone else!
HI. I am a little confused on the size of the boards to begin with. Can you please clarify this portion? In other words, when you bought wood at the store did you just buy three 4 foot 1 X 4’s?
I purchased 2 1×4 white wood boards and cut down 4 pieces with 45 degree angles at each end to build the frame.
2 @ 48″ (long point to long point)
2 @ 1 7 1/4″ (long point to long point)
I know this is old but just in case.. I think when she said 2 1×4’s she meant 8′ boards.
What was the over-lap of the mirror to the frame? I’m also very interested in that entertainment center – very cool!
Hi! Quick question. I have read and reread this post and all the comments and can’t seem to figure out your measurements. If you cut your wood 48″ long point to long point, then your side pieces would take up 7″ of your mirror which leaves only 5″ of mirror showing width wise. Or am I missing something? With the mirror framed, what are the dimensions of the mirror? Thanks!
Is there a way to print out the directions??
This looks great, and I think I’m going to try it! But I have a beginner’s question. You wrote “To keep them together while the dried, I used my staple gun (purchased years ago at Hobby Lobby). It worked like a charm!” Do you mean you stapled the wood pieces together while they were drying? Thanks.
Hello…I am going to attempt to make one of these, is there a way to attach picture hangers on the back? I was hoping to tack them on the wood frame before fixing the mirror to the wood. THANKS!