framing a bathroom mirror with trim
i remember mike asking me a couple of months ago if i had any home improvement projects to do and flippantly replying that “it’s brand new, what would i have to work on.” turns out it wasn’t more than a week or two before i was finding all kinds of things to perfect or update.
taka and i watch quite a bit of hgtv so we’re always finding new things to do. one thing that she had disliked about our place since we bought it was the builder-grade (hgtv term) guest bathroom mirror and light fixture. the mirror was just a standard mirror screwed to the wall with those plastic clips on the edges to hold it on. the light fixture was even more generic (which when we were at home depot looking for a replacement found was only $13, ugh).
The light fixture was very simple to replace and alone made a big difference. Framing the mirror to give it a custom look was a bit more involved but only took a few hours and only cost about $25. We measured out the edges of the mirror and bought the correct length of pre-primered MDF trim for about $20. Using a miter box i cut clean 45 degree angles and used liquid nails adhesive to simplly glue the trim onto the mirror. making perfectly square cuts and fitments require lots of measuring and leveling so if you try this yourself, take your time. after assembled and glued we painted it with the same trim color as the rest of the bathroom to bring it all together.
before:
after:
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Lisa and I plan on framing our mirror as well. I had no idea it was so cheap. Yours came out great.
Thanks for the pictures – your bathroom looks EXACTLY like ours. I was hoping someone had tried the MDF painted and glued, because that is what I was thinking would be a good fix. Good inspiration!
where can I find this trim?
Donna – You should be able to find it at any Lowes or Home Depot or other hardware store.
Wow, this is our bathroom!!! I was trying to come up with a way to update it without making it too obvious. You nailed it!! We’re going to try this.
How did you hang it after putting the frame on?
What did you do about the plastic clips that hold the mirror to the wall? They are in the way of the moulding. The moulding won’t go flush against the mirror with the clips. I have been wanting to do this project for forever, but don’t know what to do about the clips.
Looks great. Just did the same for my bathroom. I took my clips off and used double sided tape with some mirror liquid nails on the back to have the mirror look flush to the wall. The trim will then go flush to the mirror. Thanks for the idea and great pics.