How to frame your bathroom mirrors (Beach-inspired bathroom makeover–part 1)

My husband and I have escaped to the beach this week while my in-laws take care of our house and cat.  So if you follow me on facebook, I might be sharing some fun things from our vacation in photos.  Hoping to go home with a bunch of beach things (sand, shells, starfish, etc.) so I can add some beach goodness to our house when we get back.

So in honor of our beach week this week, I thought I would have a beach week here at the blog too!  I actually already have some beach décor in my house – specifically in our spare/guest bathroom upstairs.

I apologize in advance for the pictures in this post.  I actually did the first re-do of this bathroom almost 2 years ago so this was pre-good camera days, before I even had 1/2 a clue about taking pictures, and way before I knew I would be sharing them on a blog one day.  But I promise better pictures are coming for the final reveal!   (And if you are here for the framing your bathroom mirrors part, I promise it is here – just scroll down towards the bottom.)

So this bathroom is just a small 3-piece bathroom upstairs in our hallway in between the 3 bedrooms.  When we first got married, we got the shower curtain and some of the lighthouse/boat accessories as wedding gifts.   We used this in our one and only bathroom when we first got married and were renting a house in VA.

When we moved back to GA and bought our first and current house we used all of these things in our guest/hall bathroom.  So this room had some of my very first DIY projects in it.   (Don’t laugh, ok??)

One of which was this life preserver serving as picture frame.   I did this in VA when we had been married just a few months.  The preserver is wood and came completely unpainted from Michael’s.  I painted it white and then added one of our engagement pictures taped on the back and had it hanging in our first bathroom.

Here’s the other side of the bathroom with yet another one of my first DIY projects.

This shelf came unfinished as well (maybe Michael’s too?)  and I painted it and then did this crackle finish on it.  (This was way before I had heard of glazing/distressing/or anything like that.  Wow, how my world has changed in 9 years! )  Some of the beach things we picked up after we moved back to GA and took our first beach vacation to Myrtle Beach quite a few years ago.

Ok, so this all BEFORE pictures.  (Actually before two makeovers, but first let me show you the first one.)

I think I might have mentioned that I found the world of DIY/Home/Frugal Décor blogs in December of 2009.  It was actually my friend Renee from Living, Laughing, and Loving that introduced me to Thrifty Décor Chick sometime that December.  And I was HOOKED!  I absolutely loved her blog and I think I read all the way back through her archives in the next few weeks.    From her blog I found other blogs, and eventually decided to start my own blog!  So it is all Renee’s and Sarah’s fault. 

So later that summer, I was inspired to makeover this bathroom.  The first thing I wanted to do was frame in the mirror.  If you have never seen this done before, there are TONS of tutorials and ways you can do this.  Just search “framed in mirror” on Pinterest for lots of ideas.

Here’s a few I found:

You can do a big thick frame on a double mirror like this one – tutorial here by Sweet Pickin’s

Or this one from Blue Crickets Design – she has a great tutorial too

Or you can create a more craftsman style mirror here using MDF strips and molding to frame in the mirror.

And one more – so you can see the before and after in 1 shot – this one is from House of Smith’s

 

So once again, didn’t know then I would need all the details to blog about this so I will recount what I remember.  I  measured my mirror, and headed to Home Depot to pick out some trim.  I don’t even think we owned a miter sew then, so I was looking for something easy to cut in our miter box.  I found some white finished trim that is made out of that plastic /hard foamy type of material.  It is usually cheaper than buying wood trim too.  And I picked up some mirror glue – like Mirror Mastic or liquid nails for mirrors.  I can’t recall the price but I know the molding was not much – less than $1/foot and I needed about about 10-12 feet.  So it was around $10-12 for the trim – super cheap project with a HUGE impact.

I measured and cut each piece at a 45 degree angle with my miter box.    Your corners may not fit together exactly, but that is fine because caulk hides it all!

I applied the glue on the back and just stuck the trim pieces right to the mirror making sure to get them straight.  The bottom piece I just placed right on top of the small laminate backsplash.

I taped it all up with painter’s tape so it would stay perfectly still while I waited for the glue to dry.  I don’t remember how long the glue was supposed to dry but I know I at least left it overnight or even a day or two.

Here it is all caulked and painted.  See, you can’t even tell there was gaps there!

(By the way this trim was already white with a finish on it so you wouldn’t have to paint it if you can just get your caulk to match.  Mine didn’t look right so I just went ahead and painted it.)

Much different, right!

Here’s the before and after….

But I wasn’t done with my bathroom project yet –come back tomorrow to see what else I added to this bathroom!

{cj}

Sometimes I link up to these wonderful parties:

Sarahndipities, Skip to my Lou, Today’s Creative Blog, How to Nest for Less, Home Stories A to Z, Apron Thrift Girl, Tools are for women too, Not just a Housewife, A bowl full of lemons, Uncommon Designs Online, Someday Crafts, No Minimalist Here,Somewhat Simple, 36th Avenue, Sew Much Ado, The Style Sisters, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Weekend Blogging party at Serenity Now, Home Happy Home, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, The Girl Creative, Miss Mustard Seed, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Remodelaholic, The Lettered Cottage, Before and after party at Thrifty Decor Chick, Pinterest Challenge at Young House Love, Show Us Your House — bathroom edition at Thrifty Decor Chick