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10/7/13

How to frame bathroom mirrors with scrap trim

Making a home look nice when you're on a seriously tight budget can be a real B....!  

Big challenge, that is.  

But sometimes you can make a big improvement without spending any money.  And if it's a temporary fix...that's okay...no cost means there's no loss...just an investment of time.


I was pretty disillusioned with this bathroom.  The unframed mirrors "clipped" to the wall.  The "dressing room" style lights, the flat fronted oak cabinets, the laminate counter top, the bargain basement sinks...and those faucets.  The 90's are calling and they want their bathroom back!


What is a girl to do when there's no money in the budget to redecorate?

It's time to get creative and see what we can do with what we have!


We started with some fresh paint in a soft blue/grey color.  Gone with the beige!


We took some pieces of scrap trim Scott had saved from a prior project and cut them to the lengths we needed to frame the mirror.  We decided not to use mitered corners since we were using several differing sizes and styles of trim.  We used a router to add a little drop edge for the mirror to sit in.  You can see the routered edge on the bottom left corner of this piece of trim (above) and also in the piece of trim that will go on top of the mirror (photo below).


We then screwed the bottom piece of trim into the wall where we had pre-determined we wanted the mirror to be.


Scott carefully placed the mirror in the little channel created by the routered edge.  
Very carefully...we don't need 7 years bad luck around here.


Then I held the mirror in place while Scott screwed in the top piece.


The side trim went up and yikes...those gaps!


No worries though.  Nothing a little caulk can't fix.  My man knows the power of a good caulk job!  ;)  
Caulk always makes a project look better.


All the gaps and cracks were given their share of caulk until there were no more visible gaps.


And no more frame-less mirrors "clipped" to the walls in here!


Now to figure out how to replace those lights, faucets and that green laminate countertop without breaking the bank...

One step at a time, right!?


So much better than before.  

Makes me want to get out the paint and refinish those cabinets NOW...but what to do with those 
counter tops?  Any ideas?



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