Out of Curiosity:: Mirror, Mirror On The Bathroom Wall…
This is another one of those “what do you have NOW” questions. The reason? I’m still a bit shocked at how many people have those solid, frameless plate glass builders mirrors in their bathrooms. Are you guilty? And if so, why? Is it because you really like it, or have you just not gotten around to replacing it or dressing it up?
The easiest solution to these mirrors is to frame them with moulding that you can purchase at any home improvement store. Interestingly, I’ve actually never done this myself, but I’ve seen plenty of people do it. One of my favorites was this one by Janell over at Isabella & Max Rooms, where she turned this…
into this…
And talk about a simple project with high impact!! If you’ll notice, the corners aren’t even mitered, so you can’t even use the “I don’t have a miter saw” excuse!!
In Gwen’s bathroom, I initially wanted to add a frame to her huge mirror, but we quickly realized it wouldn’t work for two reasons. First, the left sink was so close to the wall, that a frame would have cut into the sink area. Does that make sense? I mean, that sink was REALLY jammed up against the wall!! Second, there was an outlet in the way, and it would have looked really funny to notch out part of the frame to make room for the outlet.
And then there’s the option of removing the mirrors completely and replacing them with smaller framed mirrors. In John & Alice’s bathroom, I had the original mirrors cut down, and then made frames out of moulding from Home Depot. So they went from this…
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I think anything framed looks so much better than not.
Guilty as charged:-) I hate the big frameless mirror in our guest bathroom and it is on my "to do" list to change out. I plan to frame it out as you showed in some of your photos. Unfortunately, I have to paint the guest room first…I'm sure you know how long the list can get. Thanks for the inspiration photos…they will be a big help when I am ready to tackle this project.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Cheryl at My Sister's Cottage
I have the builder's mirror….I think it would be pretty framed…but not sure I can convince my hubby to do it! SO I will just choose to be happy with what I have in the meantime!
I guess with me, it's one of those things that I always hope to do "someday", but a million projects are ranked above the mirror. 🙂 I can't understand why builders think we really want to see THAT much of ourselves in that room. LOL
To be honest, I'm guilty as well. Two bathrooms, two builders plate glass mirrors. I have so many project that I have to get done in other rooms before I can even BEGIN to think about redoing my bathrooms.
I have the EXACT problem as Gwen's bathroom…sink too close to wall and an outlet. Thanks for the idea of hanging the mirrors on top!
Looks great! Very creative alternatives. This is our problem as well. All 3 of our bathrooms have builder mirrors that are glued to the wall.
How did you attached the 2 beveled mirrors to the big mirror? Glue them on? That might work in my master bedroom.
Cyndi, I used 3M Picture Hanging Strips. They're similar to Velcro, kind of, but different. 🙂
http://blog.addicted2decorating.com/2010/06/little-mirror-on-mirror-magic-quick-how.html
Hi Kristi,
I love that mirror on mirror that you did–I need to find a way to copy that (if you don't mind):)
Sindy
Kristi, your "after" bathrooms are such a dramatic improvement! But I have to admit, I have a builder's mirror, and it's because I have a midcentury modern home, and I haven't found a framed mirror that matches my home's style. There's very little trim at all in my house — most places don't even have baseboard. So I either stick with the slick, mod frameless look, or I go all out with an intentionally bigger, "louder" frame. What to do, what to do…
Stephanie, I definitely think there are times when a plain builder's mirror is appropriate for the style of the room/home, and midcentury modern would be one of those styles. I think you would run the risk of it looking overdone and out of place if you went with something framed or even beveled in a home like that. So, yours is the exception. 🙂
For my 2 daughters' bathroom(5 and 2 yrs old) I used wall stickers on top of the mirror to create a framed look. I really wanted to hang actual ornate frames, but for safeties sake, I used the stickers on top of the builders sheet of mirror. For now anyways.
I plan on changing the mirror out in our powder room as soon as I find something I like. I am a bit stuck on our MB though. The large mirror we have now spans across 2 sinks separated by a vanity area. I kind of like have the full mirror in that room. Maybe I should just do a frame around the whole thing. hmmm
I have builders mirrors that I would love to get rid of.
Can you just come over to my house?
I have a builders plate glass mirror that I used glass etching cream to add a 3 line border on. I'd like to add a frame made of moulding someday, the etched lines work for now though.
Okay, I SWEAR I'm not just commenting so much today only because of the giveaway! haha =) Like I said before, I just came across your blog recently and today I actually have time (as the kiddos nap) to look around! I must say, I can't BELIEVE how many people have those ugly (sorry, but they are) builder grade HUGE mirrors and haven't done anything about them yet! We have 3 bathrooms in our house, all of them super ugly huge mirrors just like the ones in your pics in the post and we framed all of them with moulding! Made such a huge difference….so easy, and so cheap and such a huge difference!!
I have a small 1/2 bath down stairs for years there has been a mirror over the sink and I mirror on the opposite wall. Mirror looking at mirror if you will. I was told this was the wrong thing to do. True or false?
I want to frame all my bathroom mirrors. I saw your log on this but didn't see many pics or how to on how to frame using molding -existing mirrors. Do u have add'l resources?