Framed.

All of the bathrooms in our house have the standard builders grade mirror in them. You know what I'm talking about, just a big ol' piece of mirror slapped up on the wall. It's super exciting to look at...NOT! (Yes, that was a NOT! joke.) I decided that I wanted to try framing the mirror in our half bath. Mainly because it'd be the easiest one to frame due to the pedestal sink rather than a vanity. (Don't mind my arm in the photo - I was having a hard time getting a pic of the full area).

I had a feeling I was going to need some husbandly assistance with this project. So we measured the mirror and headed off to Lowe's. I knew I wanted to use trim with a little bit of detailing to it and then use the square end block pieces in the corners (I know that's not the official name of the square piece - sorry!). I ended up with some ribbed trim and a square end piece that has a circle in the middle. Once we got the material home Loren cut the trim to size so I could start painting. Before I painted we taped the pieces up on the mirror just to make sure we had everything cut just right.

Here's the trim ready to be painted.

Yes, I did paint the framing pieces in my living room. On the coffee table. What?! It's cold outside! I used some paint that I already had on hand - Glidden Onyx paint in an eggshell finish. I did two coats of paint on the visible surfaces and one coat on the back of the pieces because you can't really see the back. When I say you can't see the back of the wood, that's only partially true. It's not seen enough that it has to be perfect but you CAN tell if you don't paint it. It'll reflect off the mirror and look disgusting. Trust me. (You'll have to because I forgot to take a picture. Whoopsie!)


Originally, I'd thought that I might want to put a coat of poly on but the eggshell finish actually matches perfectly with the other frames already in the bathroom. That was a pleasant surprise. Now it was time to attach the pieces to the mirror. We discussed several different options for attaching the wood; velcro, liquid nails, actual nails (putting the trim on the wall around the mirror). In the end, we were leaning towards velcro because we liked that it'd be able to remove the trim if we changed our mind down the road. But we quickly realized that the velcro wouldn't allow the trim to sit flush on the mirror and we'd be left with a small gap. Not cool. Then, my ever brilliant husband thought of the solution. Hot glue. Easy to use, dries flat, and easy to remove with a little heat applied. BINGO!! He's such a smartie pants. Just a steady line of hot glue down the piece and then line it up to attach.



In full disclosure, we did have a little issue with lining things up so we already tried the heat up to remove trim plan. I'm happy to report that it works! We got things lined up straight the second time around and I think the finished product is great!


Here's what it actually looks like right now. With our little Thanksgiving pumpkin and window clings. Don't judge me for having holiday clings, I love them. Not as much as the mirror trim though.


I think this is a huge improvement and best of all, simple to do. What do you all think? Like it? Hate it? Have you done anything similar?