We’re so glad to be taking part in yet another Pinterest Challenge along with Sherry, Katie, Erin and Cassie! I’ve participated in the past with a couple of fun projects…

Past Challenge: Faux Leather Drum Shade Chandelier

Past Challenge: Chevron Nailhead Trim Inspiration Board

…and knew I could use the kick in the pants to make some of my pins into reality.

This time I tackled a project for our three bathrooms: framed mirrors! I just couldn’t deal with the ugly three plate glass wall mirrors. Here’s what they looked like on our staged house tour before we moved in. Shortly after this, I painted the cabinets a dark brown which I also used as the color for the frames (Behr Bitter Chocolate).

Here was my inspiration:

On the left, it’s the tutorial from HGTV and on the right is another tutorial from the Home Goods blog. (Note, Home Goods didn’t let me link directly to the post, but you can search 70s Bath Gets Budget Reno.) The HGTV tutorial is very thorough, so if you’re wanting to do the project, I suggest you go over that as well.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Moulding
• Decorative square moulding (optional)
• Caulking gun
• Mirror Mastic caulk (must use this type to adhere mirror to wall, not just any caulk adhesive)
• Liquid Nails
• Painter’s tape
• Semi-gloss paint (We hardly used 1/3 of a quart for three bathrooms)
• Angled paint brush
• Putty (optional)

Here’s how we did it:

• We first measured our mirrors to figure out how much moulding we need. Since we don’t have a mitre saw (and didn’t feel like borrowing one) we decided to do straight cuts and add decorative square moulding to the corners. We made the cuts ourselves at a hand saw station in Home Depot since they don’t cut moulding for you. While at HD, we shopped for the rest of the supplies, which were easy to find.
• Then I applied two coats of paint to the pre-primed moulding. Make sure to paint the back side of the inner rim of the moulding as it will be reflected in the mirror.
• Our mirrors were held in by clips, so carefully remove the clips and the mirror and set aside. Wipe down the walls and make sure the surface is primed/painted to be able to hold the glue.
• In a well ventilated area, apply the Mirror Mastic caulk. It’s very important to use this product instead of just any caulk adhesive as others will show spots through the mirror. The instructions said to apply it in vertical lines every six inches. (Be sure to pierce the caulk opening with a wide hole so that it will be easier to squeeze out. While I would love to say that I could have done this by myself, it was tough for both of us to squeeze that stuff out.) Apply to the wall, hold into place for a little bit and apply tape to help keep it secure. To be safe, we let it dry overnight, but you could probably wait a couple hours and be safe.
  

  To the left, applying Liquid Nails to the center of the moulding. To the right, taping them in place as they dry.

• Start by placing the moulding pieces in place without glue to make sure everything is fitting well. Then apply Liquid Nails to the back of the moulding. Be careful not to get too much product near the edges as it will squirt out and can show in the reflection. Quickly tape the moulding in place with painter’s tape to help keep from slipping. This is especially important for the top piece! Allow to dry undisturbed for 24 hours.
• Remove tape, apply any touch up paint necessary and enjoy!

Two things to note:

• For those with wonky walls: One of our walls was weirdly bowed, as in it was 1/4 inch difference between one side of the wall and the other. We don’t recommend trying to glue a flat mirror on a surface like that. We ended up sanding down a significant portion of the wall behind the mirror, which took five hours to do and countless hours to clean up the white dust that resulted.
• I didn’t do any caulking between pieces of moulding. I didn’t feel that it was absolutely necessary or that it would make a big difference since our cuts were pretty accurate. They would have been better had we used a mitre saw, but we got good results with a hand saw.

We’re pleased with the results and feel like it was a fairly painless way to update a space. Total cost? About $66.50 or $22 per bathroom. The makeover really makes the rooms feel finished. It would have been cheaper if we already had the paint ($11 for a quart) and we didn’t own a caulking gun yet.

What rooms are getting a makeover in your home?