Whew! I’m finally back. That stomach flu did a number on us. We are still not 100% well around here, but things are much better than last week. I had a chance to get some work done on a few projects around here, and that was a relief. We are hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I have about a million things to get done before everyone makes their way to The House on Harrison. One thing I can check off my list is the trumeau mirror I was drooling over.
Last year a friend of Mr. Type2Fun’s gave us a couple of builder mirrors from their house. They were renovating and didn’t need them anymore, so they were FREE! We cut one of the mirrors down to the size we wanted, using a glass cutting wheel from Home Depot. We didn’t really have a plan, but we knew what we wanted in our heads. Susie Harris has a great tutorial, as does Amy from The Idea Room. We picked up a sheet of birch plywood (also from Home Depot), and we had them cut the plywood to our exact dimensions. The plywood was a bit on the pricey side, but we have lots left over for other projects.
Because I am not crazy about the look of cut plywood, I applied some edge banding to the raw edges. If you aren’t familiar with edge banding, it is basically a roll of thin wood veneer that has adhesive on one side. You apply it with a regular old iron, and looks like you have a sheet of solid wood. I love it!
For the top of the mirror, we just used a 2×4. Mr. Type2Fun routed the edge to give it a more finished look, and we attached cove molding just underneath it. It was MUCH cheaper than buying expensive molding, and it looks great.
For the bottom, we used a piece of 2×6. We put our dado blade on the table saw and cut a channel for the the plywood to sit in. Then we attached cove molding to that piece as well. We needed a big, solid, piece of wood on the floor, since it was basically functioning as a door stop, too.
For the decorative top, we used a wooden applique and some cheap trim left over from the shoe cabinet. Since these pieces are going to be in the same room, I wanted some continuity between the two.
To attach the mirror to the plywood, we used Liquid Nails Mirror Adhesive. Once the mirror was on, we framed it out with some picture frame molding. We picked this up at Lowes, and it hides the cut edges of the mirror. Make sure to paint the inside of the molding before attaching it. It will show in the reflection of the mirror, and you don’t want an unpainted surface showing.
I finished this mirror exactly the way I did my shoe cabinet. It got two coats of black paint, some distressing, a bit of Early American stain, and then a coat of Minwax Finishing Paste.
Once it was finished, we used some L-brackets to attach it to the wall (from the top), so that it wouldn’t get tipped over. I love the way it ties in with the shoe cabinet, and it gives me a little ledge to decorate on. :-) I haven’t quite decided what to do with it yet.
I’m thinking of maybe an initial wall, like this one over at Jones Design Company.
What do you think? Do you think I can make an “R” wall work around this mirror? I’d love to hear your ideas! Thanks for stopping by.
Linking up to the parties here and Beneath My Heart.
WOW, I’m so impressed- it looks beautiful and really ties in well with the shoe cabinet.
any problems with your front door hitting the mirror?
Nope. We put a really big 2×6 board at the bottom, so it doesn’t even come close to touching the mirror. It worked out great.
What a great-large mirror!
Your mirror turned out great. I really like the addition of the applique….gives it a custom touch.
Thank you, Petie.
This is fantastic! I’ve been on the hunt for a mirror that looks just like this (but smaller, for a bathroom vanity) but I have to admit, I hadn’t thought about building it myself! The moulding and wood trim piece looks great, and the doorstop is genius. Thanks for the idea and the great tutorial.
Pinned and following…
Thanks for stopping by, Amy. I think a trumeau mirror would look awesome as a bathroom vanity. Great idea!
I love this mirror. It is something I’ve wanted to try since Susie did hers. It’s gorgeous. I love how it turned out.
Ruth
Thanks, Ruth. You should give it a go. It was so much easier than I thought it would be.
Love these mirrors and you did an amazing job with it-I featured it on my Saturday favorites-have a great weekend! Claire
Awesome! Thank you, Claire. I’m headed over there now.
Your mirror is gorgeous! I can’t believe you guys made that! It looks like an antique! And I totally think you can do an R wall around it! Such a fun idea!
Would love to see your “R” wall! Our last name begins with R too and have kind of started one already — not knowing this seems to be the thing to do! I’m in the process of trying to arrange them on the wall. I love the idea of doing this with letters!
Absolutely love your mirror. No matter where you put it, it will shine through. Lovely. We are your newest followers, and would love for you to follow us. So glad I found you at Keep It Simple. Take care, Jeannie
Beautiful! I found you through Roadkill Rescue!
Absolutely love this!
Thank you! And thanks for stopping by!
I love this! Thanks so much for sharing. I am going to definitely try this myself.
You should, Amy! I’d love to see it!
Love, love this….great project…got some granddaughters who would love this in their bedrooms.
I love it! I’ve been wanting a tall floor mirror for some time now & my husband recently mentioned about making one, I may have to show him this!
You did such a great job! Big mirrors are so expensive and you’ve found a way to get something fabulous without spending a small fortune. Gorgeous!
Wow, I’m impressed.. Great looking
mirror. How nice to have all the
proper cutting tools…
Happy Thanksgiving
Sandy
This is impressive! I have a great giveaway going on. I hope you will come check it out. http://diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com/2012/11/merry-merry-munchies-2012-week-2.html
Larissa–you do the most awesome projects! I love your mirror, and it;’s in the perfect place!
gail
Thanks so much, Gail! Glad to see you stopped by.
Great job! Do you really need the edge banding if you are going to paint it anyway? Cheers!
Jo, even if I’m painting plywood, I prefer the look of the edge banding. In my experience, unless you putty the cut edge, you can see the layers of plywood through the paint. That’s why I use the edge banding.