mirror, mirror, leaning on the wall - tutorial

If you guys checked out my guest post over at All Things Bright and Beautiful you may have seen a little (ok, a BIG) something something leaning against the wall behind the couch.

Yep, I finally got around to making the mirror I mentioned here!

And, I did a tutorial ;D

What you'll need:

• mirror (I used an old builder's grade vanity mirror - I recently saw some at my local ReStore for $10)
• 3/4 inch thick plywood (you could even use an old door from the ReStore, which I wish I would have thought of before buying the plywood)
• notched moulding to trim around the mirror
• any trim of your choice for the top and bottom of mirror
• Liquid Nails for Mirrors and caulking gun
• brad nailer and brads (or finishing nails and hammer)
• miter saw (or miter box and hand saw)
• tape measure and pencil
• wood filler
• sand paper
• paint and roller/brush
• polyurethane (optional)
• protective eye gear and gloves - not optional people :D

STEP ONE:  Measure out and mark where you want the mirror to sit on the plywood.

STEP TWO:  Using caulk gun, squeeze Liquid Nails onto the plywood where the mirror will sit and put mirror into place.  You'll want to wear gloves and get help when moving the mirror - those mirrors are really heavy and can easily break.

STEP THREE:  Miter cut the notched trim for edges of mirror.

STEP FOUR:  Paint the inside part of the the trim.  Once attached to the mirror the inside will be reflected, and you don't want the raw wood color to show.

STEP FIVE:  Attach trim to edges of mirror using brad nailer or finishing nails.  You'll want to keep in mind where the edge of the mirror is so that you don't nail into the mirror and crack it.  Only nail the part of the trim that meets up with the plywood.  Use protective eye gear peps!

STEP SIX:  Cut and add trim to top and bottom of mirror using brad nailer or finishing nails.  I topped of my crown moulding with left over pieces of wood.  If you decide to use crown molding and are having issues getting the angles to cut correctly, Google tutorials for cutting crown molding.  There are tons of great tutorials out there on this, and they do a FAR better job explaining it than I can.

STEP SEVEN:  Fill any gaps and nail holes with wood filler and let dry completely before sanding.

STEP EIGHT:  Paint mirror desired color and let dry.  I did two coats.

STEP NINE:  Lightly sand any rough areas (or heavily sand edges for a distressed look), add a coat of poly (if desired) and let dry.

STEP TEN:  Wipe or scrape off any paint/poly that got onto the mirror.  You could tape it off before hand and avoid this :)

STEP ELEVEN:  If you have small children (or are just plain accident prone like myself) you will want to anchor the top of the mirror to the wall so that it can't be pulled over.  I used a heavy duty hanging system from Lowes and made sure it went into studs.  That way it has the look of leaning against the wall, but can't be pulled away from it.

{via}

DONE!!!

Now get someone to help move that beast into place and enjoy!

On a side note - can I just say how hard it is to get a good picture of a mirror without seeing your reflection.  Sheesh!  Maybe it wouldn't have mattered that much I had been cleaned up :D

I'll be linking up to these fab parties!

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