How To Make A DIY Mirror Frame

Making a DIY Mirror Frame from old wood/barn wood/reclaimed wood…

Have some old mirrors you’d like to frame? Today we’ll show you how to make a DIY mirror frame to update an old mirror.

But first, let’s throw it back to 1987. Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. What a work of art. Here’s my version. I’m calling it “woman in the mirror”.

Woman in a 1980’s vintage builder’s grade vanity mirror, to be exact. And we had a lot of these lovelies in our house…

But not after today. Because we are going to complete a DIY mirror frame treatment, so they’ll look like this when we’re done…

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The supplies are broken down into two parts: supplies you’ll need for cutting your mirror if that’s something you’ll need to do, and then supplies needed for framing your mirror.

When I look at these outdated vanity mirrors, that song from the Ferrari scene in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off comes to mind…the one that just keeps saying “Oh Yeah” in that perfectly-cheesy-synthesized-Miami-Vice-theme-song way?

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Like OH YEAH, these suckers GOTTA GO.

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Mirror, mirror on the wall? More like “mirror mirror” get your A@# OFF my wall!!

And preferably without breaking because I’m not digging that whole seven years of bad luck deal. MJ said, or sang it more eloquently…”I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways.” In this case, let’s just change the MIRROR and leave the man out of it.

Here’s the thing. Mirrors are expensive. So rather than toss these suckers, we figured we’d treat these 80’s icons to a 2015 makeover by cutting them, then making a DIY mirror frame from some old wood…barn wood to be exact.

After removing them from the walls (luckily ours were just installed with inexpensive mirror clips that were easy to unscrew), we took them to the garage. And now, we’ll run you through the play-by-play so you can try it too!

How to Cut Mirror

1. Make line on mirror.

Using some Irwin quick grips (SUPER useful to have) and a level,  set up a straight line/guide on the mirror. The clamps will keep the level steady during scoring.

2. Rub mirror with vegetable oil.

Wipe some vegetable oil on the mirror where you’re planning to score it. This will help to prevent chipping.

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3. Score mirror

Using an inexpensive mirror/glass cutting tool, score the glass by running the tool down your straight line, applying some pressure as you go.

4. Break mirror along score

Move the scored line to the edge of your work surface, and apply a bit of downward pressure. It should break right along your score.

5. Sand cut edge

Using a sanding block, lightly “sand” the cut edge to knock down the sharp edges.

6. Seal cut edge

Seal the newly cut edge by “painting” some clear nail polish along it.

7. Secure mirror to wall

Affix mirror to the wall with mirror clips (only if you are re-installing the mirror now).

This is a stairwell that leads to our basement.

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And here it is today, after a lengthy rehab process.

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This DIY mirror frame was not a tough project. We just cut pieces of extra barn board we had here from our guest room and basement bathroom project.

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It could have been even easier if instead of angled cuts for the frame we just kept everything 90°. But Dave had gotten a new Kreg jig for Christmas that he had been dying to try out, so he wanted to make the angled cornered frame and use the new joiner.

Steps for Making the DIY Mirror Frame

1. Rip the barn board

Rip the barn board down to the desired width using a table saw. We used a width of about 4″, but you could rip them to any size that works for your project.

2. Cut groove in edge of boards

To make the frame sit on top of the mounted mirror, we used the table saw to cut a groove in the edge of each of the boards.

The groove was about 3/4″ wide and 1/2″ deep. This is not hard, just takes about 10-12 passes on the table saw for each board.

**Tip: make sure you lower the blade so you don’t cut all the way through the board…that would make for a bad day…

3. Cut a 45° angle on the boards

A miter saw makes this job pretty easy. Cut one 45, then measure from the top of the board the “overall” length that you need (outside dimension). Then cut the second 45, in the opposite direction.

4. Join the frame boads

The Kreg Jig luckily comes with great instructions. Follow these and you will be just fine. Once you have the holes drilled, lay the boards on a flat surface and screw them together…you will be amazed how well this works…I was!

5. Make notches for the mirror hangers

The frame is now complete before you mount the frame to the wall…you need to make notches where the mirror hangers are located. We used a 5/8″ drill bit.

Hold the frame up on top of the mirror and mark where the hangers are located. Drill out a pocket for the hangers to go into. You might need to do repeat this process a few times until it fits just right.

6. Mount frame to wall

Mount the frame to the wall with drywall screws.

Can you see the mirror clips in that little crevice below?

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And below, you can see one of the drywall screws. When you step away from it, they are barely visible.

We could have made the project harder and tried to disguise them, but sometimes, you just wanna check something off your (long) list and move on. These were supposed to look rustic anyhow, so a couple of screws wasn’t going to bother me.

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OH YEAH, we’re done.

Finally, just because it really is an AWESOME song, I had to include a little MJ. The video still makes me cry, even circa 2015.

Pin this DIY mirror frame tutorial for later! And if you make one, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try this project, too!

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Pssst…before you go, I sure would love to hang out with you again really soon! Sign up now and get a no-cost copy of “Builder-Grade To Beautiful: 10 Totally Transformative Home Decorating Solutions, All Under $100!” Click here to enter your email or on the image below. Your copy will be emailed right away!