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Tall, Rustic, DIY Wall Mirrors

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Happy Monday!

We made a little progress in the Bungalow Barn bathroom last week, so I thought I’d share one of the DIY projects we created. Two, four-foot tall mirrors on the wall above each sink:

They’re not any taller than the builder-basic sheet of mirror glass they usually stick to the wall in most new homes- but they look more custom because of how they’re framed.

We used this gray-stained lumber from Home Depot to create the frames:

The back side of each board was pretty ugly, so I just used some left over gray paint to cover up that side. After that, Brian the Carpenter cut a groove down each board:

And then we used mirror mastic to stick the (1/8″ thick) mirror glass to (1/4″ thick) luan, and once that had dried overnight, we slid them into the grooves and clamped everything together so that it could be tacked and glued in place for another night:

The total project (for both mirrors) ended up costing about $130, which I thought was pretty great considering they’re 4-feet tall and almost 2-feet wide. (I shopped for similar-sized mirrors before we started this project and most were in the $150-$250 range, per mirror.) Here’s the breakdown:

Mirror glass: $78 (for both 2’x4′ pieces)
Luan: $15
Mirror mastic: $5
Lumber: $32 (for four 8′ stalks)
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$130 for two mirrors

We used heavy-duty picture hanger loops on the back side of each mirror to hang them (I had some from previous projects). The only thing I would change about them, and hopefully this will help you if you decide to create something similar, is that I would use 1/4″ mirror glass instead of the (thinner) 1/8″ glass. The reason is, when you stand more than four feet away from these mirrors, the reflection starts to get wavy. Sort of “fun house” mirror-esque. :-/ It’s no big deal if you are standing in the bathroom, but if you look in there from the other room, the reflection looks pretty wonky. I opted for the thinner glass because I thought it would weigh less, but I wish the glass man would’ve told me it would look weird from a distance. Oh well. Maybe one day, we’ll re-do the project with the thicker glass?

Live and learn! 🙂

Layla

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Comments

  2. Beth

    I agree with Taste of France! The proportions and shape echo the elements of the room. I love the softness of the color.

  3. Lee Ann

    Layla, they look great! My only concern would be: “How is my short little self gonna get to the top to clean those mirrors??” LOL!

    • Layla

      Oh, I’m not worried about that because they’re not any taller than the stuck-to-the-wall sheet mirror that’s in either of our homes now. 🙂

    • Layla

      Easy, peasy with a little dusting every now and then! 🙂 (And they aren’t any taller than our current stuck-to-the-wall sheet mirrors, if the height is what’s concerning you.)

  5. donna

    Layla, I have been following the Bungalow Barn from the beginning and have enjoyed your posts about it. I was just curious….how close is it to being finished?

    • Layla

      Not sure exactly, because there seems to be no way to predict when Dixie Electric and our electricians will show up to do the final work. We also need the HVAC guys to come back and hook everything up and add ductwork for one more vent. I’ve also said, “when it’s done, it’s done” and when everyone (including (and most importantly) our Sonny boy) is ready for another big transition, it’ll be here. 🙂

  6. Rebecca Schwem

    I looked at it and instantly thought there couldn’t be a better mirror for that spot. I really like everything about it.

  7. Sandy Rhoades

    Tall mirrors or windows – that’s what good squeegies are for. Always a solution there for most any projects if you want it bad enough

  9. Marianne in Mo.

    Those are really awesome! Did you put any kind of a back board on the glass, or does it just “float” in the framing?

  11. Heidi Ferguson

    Had NO idea that there are different thicknesses of glass available and they they make a difference in reflection!! Love learning these things on the blog! All looks so amazing!! Bet your in laws can’t wait to move in right!

  13. Tiff

    For future projects consider having your carpenter make a French cleat for hanging heavy frames. Safely and evenly distributes the weight and no continual straightening!