Easy DIY Bathroom Mirror Frame

In case you missed it, on the blog yesterday I shared the big reveal for our guest bathroom makeover that we have been working on. (FINALLY!) As I was sharing progress videos on Instagram Stories during this project, I got a lot of messages from people asking how we planned to frame the bathroom mirror. I decided that, since the question was so popular, it deserved its own blog post.

Today on the blog, I can’t wait to share with you a super easy (and inexpensive!) DIY that you can do to upgrade the look to any builder grade bathroom mirror that you have in your home.

READ ALSO: Modern Farmhouse Guest Bathroom Makeover Reveal

How-To Frame a Bathroom Mirror

I’ve seen a lot of different mirror frame tutorials. However, I felt like they made it way more complicated and complex than it really had to be. So if this tutorial seems very straight forward and to the point, that’s because it is! Framing a builder grade bathroom mirror shouldn’t be intimidating. I’m a firm believer that this easy and inexpensive (yet high impact) upgrade can be done by ANYONE.

Materials:

• Loctite PL 530 Mirror, Marble, and Granite Adhesive + Caulk Gun
• Select Pine Boards
• Pocket Hole Jig + Pocket Hole Screws
• Stain: Early American by Varathane
• Polyurethane

Instructions:

Step 1: Build Frame

When we measured the mirror to make the frame, we had the edge of the mirror hit about halfway through the select pine boards. In other words, we had the edge of the frame extend past the mirror about an inch. We then made 45 degree cuts in the select pine boards so the corners would fit seamlessly together when making the frame. From there, we assembled the frame using pocket holes on the back of the select pine boards to screw them together and hide the holes.

Unlike a lot of other tutorials I have seen online, we decided to pre-build / pre-assemble the mirror frame rather than assemble it piece by piece as we put it up. Assembling the frame beforehand made sure that we not only had all of the angles (corners) matching up perfectly. But it also made sure that we weren’t off on any measurements. All-in-all, we definitely recommend pre-assembling the frame before putting it up on the mirror!

Step 2: Stain and Seal Frame

Once the frame was assembled, I stained the select pine boards using Varathane stain (from Home Depot) in the color Early American. Since this is in the bathroom and above the sink (possibly coming into contact with moisture), I then sealed the frame with Polyurethane.

One big tip I have here is to make sure that you also stain the back of the boards. You wouldn’t think it’s necessary, but you can actually see a tiny bit of the back of the boards once they are up on the mirror. If they aren’t stained (especially if staining them a darker color), it will be super noticeable.

Step 3: Add Mirror Adhesive

When we were ready to hang up our pre-assembled mirror frame, we ran a thin bead of Loctite PL 530 Mirror, Marble, and Granite Adhesive around the edge of the mirror. We made sure to do a thin bead of caulk around the very edge of the mirror so that when pressure was added from putting up the mirror the caulk wouldn’t seep out from behind the boards. (That would have been a huge mess to try to fix!) This type of adhesive is really heavy duty, so a thin bead is more than enough to hold up this light frame.

Step 4: Place Mirror

Finally, once the adhesive was added all the way around the mirror, we placed the pre-assembled frame onto the mirror. We started with the bottom edge against the mirror. Meanwhile, we had the frame resting on the top lip of the counter (making a large V) in order to make sure it was centered. Once centered, we slowly closed that large V, and the mirror was sealed from bottom to top. Doing it this way made sure that the frame didn’t shift as we put it up and it remained centered.  Once up, we held pressure on the frame for a couple minutes to make sure it was secure.

That’s it!

How stinkin’ easy was that, friends? Like I said at the beginning of this post, I really think anyone could tackle this DIY if they’re looking to add some easy and inexpensive upgrades to their home this year.

 

 

Well there you have it, friends! I hope this look at this super easy (and inexpensive!) DIY bathroom mirror frame inspires you to try something new. This simple project is a great way to upgrade the look and feel of any builder grade bathroom mirror that you have in your home. Who else wants to frame every mirror in their house now? I think our master bathroom is going to be next!