The Rest

Bathroom Mirror Makeover and a MirrorMate Giveaway

July 2, 2012

When we remodeled our master bathroom last year, we left a big part undone: the bathroom mirror.

We had one of those unframed, builder’s grade mirrors so common in houses of a certain age.

The original plan was to take it down and replace it with a framed mirror, or possibly two framed mirrors. Our construction guys were willing, but told us that because the mirror was glued to the wall — instead of being held up with clips — taking it down would likely involve breakage of the unpredictable variety.

They weren’t wild about having to do it.

So we opted to leave the mirror up and in tact, but we still wanted a more complete look. That’s where MirrorMate came in.

MirrorMate makes custom frame kits that you assemble and install over existing mirrors. No mirror to take down and dispose of. No new mirror to buy. Just a frame to jazz up the mirror you already have. I liked that.

MirrorMate was willing to ship me a frame in exchange for my blogging about my experience here. MirrorMate did not require that I blog positively about their company/product, however. I already had the frame in hand and was free to share my own opinions.

I visited the MirrorMate website and ordered samples of three frames:

Bellemeade Vintage Silver

Naples Antique Silver

and Grandezza Aged Silver

Grandezza Aged Silver was my favorite before receiving the samples, and it was still my favorite once I saw them in person.

It is silver (more silver than it looks here), but the aging made it look richer and less metallic than the other two samples. It was also the widest of the three, which I thought would make it feel more substantial. So despite the fact that our mirror was a little on the small side, and we would lose more of it with this frame, I went with it.

How MirrorMate Works

To order a frame from MirrorMate, you start by using their detailed instructions to measure your mirror. You measure both the height and width, and also tell them how much clearance there is on each side (to allow for things like light fixtures and outlets), and if you have any clips that need to be worked around.

The frame is shipped to you with the fours sides unassembled. Also in the box is almost everything you need to assemble/install it. We only had to add a hammer and a level.

My husband and I took a long time getting around to putting up the mirror because the size of the box made us feel like it would be a big, big project. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The entire process, not including drying time, took under an hour. Here are some (blurry) photos I took that will give you a feel for the process:

To begin, you lay out the frame facedown. Vacuuming first is optional, but if you’re going to be photographing your floor and then posting it on the world wide web for all to see, I completely recommend it.

Next, cover the ends of the frame with the glue that’s provided as part of the kit. There’s the proof of the vacuuming in the background.

With the glue still wet, insert the frame connectors at the corners and then let the assembled frame dry for an hour.

Once the glue is dry, you’re ready to hang the frame.

Hanging involves finding the right frame position, marking it with placement corners that are provided to you (not shown) and then peeling off the adhesive on the back of the frame and pressing into place.

That’s it! Easy as pie. Especially if you’re the one taking the pictures and not the one doing the actual work.

And here’s the fabulous result:

We love it!

We cannot stop talking about what a big change it’s made in the room.

Here are the befores and afters one more time:

MirrorMate Frame Giveaway

I’m not the only one that’s benefitting from the generosity of the MirrorMate people, however. Those nice folks have agreed to give a frame of up to $150 in value to a Family CEO reader. All you need to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post telling us which mirror in your house you will frame if you’re the winner.

You can also earn extra entries by doing any or all of the following. (Remember to leave a comment for each one you’ve done in order to receive extra entries in the giveaway.)

1. Visit the MirrorMate website and tell us which mirror style you like the best.
2. Like MirrorMate on Facebook.
3. Use the share button to share a photo or status update from the Family CEO Facebook page (it doesn’t have to be the one for this post or giveaway).

Entries for this giveaway will close at 10pm CST on Sunday, July 8. I’ll draw the winning comment using the Random Number Generator and I’ll announce the winner on the blog and Facebook on Monday, July 9.

So let’s get started: which of your bathroom mirrors would you like to frame using MirrorMate?

This post is part of Creative Things Thursday and Tutorials and Tidbits.
















Related Posts:

117 Comments

  3. I’d LOVE to re-do my powder room mirror! We have changed everything in that bathroom, with the exception of the mirror. It’d be the icing on the cake!

    Reply

  6. I would love to do this in my master bath. It is a brilliant idea and my bathroom needs to be updates so it stops looking like a dorm room bathroom.

    Reply

  9. I would love to do this in all 3 bathrooms! I don’t mind our 1990’s mirrors but a little spicing up would be wonderful!

    Reply

  10. Wow! What an amazing transformation with such a small change. I’ve been looking for something similar to this for my builder’s grade mirror. Thanks for sharing your tips and wonderful pictures.

    Reply

  12. We have a master bathroom mirror that looks just like yours in the “before” photo. This is the one we would frame.

    Reply

  13. My master bath has a huuuge builder mirror and it looks so sad and plain. It needs a frame to snazz it up! It’s just amazing how that frame makes it look so different. I think while I’m at it, I would put one around the powder bath plain mirror, too. Thanks for this generous giveaway!!

    Reply

  14. This is such a great product! We just started pricing componemts for redoing our main bathroom last week and it was a lot more than I had initially expected…what a great solution!

    At this point I like Bellemeade Aged Silver but I have a very talented designer friend who I would probably consult before buying :)

    Reply

  23. Planning a master bath remodel later this year. The Chelsea or Permaquid in bronze would work well in our plans, I think.

    Reply

  30. I would choose to do the master bathroom. It’s looking pretty dated and it is on “the list” to be redone — this would be a good push in that direction!

    Reply

  32. I have two Mirror Mate frames in my bathrooms and absolutely LOVE them! What a transformation!!!

    Reply

  36. I would pick the Chelsea Espresso mirror – and we would do our master bathroom mirror! It looks a lot like your’s did.

    Reply

  40. I would love to use Mirror Mate as part of the complete makeover of my guest bathroom. As soon as my broken foot heals I will be getting to work!!! :)

    Reply

  46. I want to do this SO badly!! The first would be our front bathroom that is used by any guests visiting the house, and then I would do the master bath. Finally, we have an upstairs bath that I would love to see done too. These frames are SO beautiful!

    Reply

  53. I reall love the one you used but i’m also loving the acadia in oil rubbed bronze. Thanks for entering me!

    Reply

  60. I’m loving the Bellemeade Vintage Silver….what a beautiful, easy, transformation! Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply

  61. Wow – I’d never heard of Mirror Mate till now, but will definitely be checking it out now! I’ve got a mirror in the bathroom which is very plain and boring and I’ve been on the lookout for a new one, but now I’ll just be on the lookout for Mirror Mate!

    Reply

  79. Oh, no question – I’d do our master bathroom! And I’d love to win, because we rent this house and I don’t want to spend the money on this project, but I soooooo want to frame the mirror.

    Reply

  81. Your mirror looks wonderful! It made such an impact. Grandezza Bronze would add the right pizzazz to my master bath!

    Reply

  83. This is a fantastic idea and I’d never heard of it before. I have a mirror like that in my downstairs bathroom and did not know what to do with it. In just an hour, it really transformed the look of the room.

    Reply

  86. I love the Grendezza Aged Silver frame also! My bathroom hasn’t changed (except for paint) since it was built – 1985. My mirror is just like your before, builder’s mirror. Would LOVE this easy update – would make a world of difference!

    Reply

  89. Finally, I used the share button and shared a photo (This bathroom makeover photo!) from The Family CEO on face book!

    Reply

  90. My daughter just bought her first home. Their bathroom has the ugly old big mirror that just screams for help! The Pacifica Brown Leather frame would love beautiful!

    P.S. I have done my bathroom with a mirror mate frame and it looks marvelous!

    Reply

  92. I could use a frame like this in all of our bathrooms but would pick our master bathroom first. Love yours!

    Reply

  93. Hard to decide which one would look best in our bathroom but right now I’d probably pick the Venetian Bronze Wave frame. Then again, I really like how yours turned out.

    Reply

  94. I actually found you through the MirrorMate website. I need to win!!! Pick me, pick me!!!

    I would order one for my hall bathroom that I am re-doing currently, but I need them for all the bathrooms in my house!!!

    Reply

  102. This looks awesome! We have two huge mirrors in our master bath and I have been wanting to do something like this. I liked them on FB too!

    Reply

  105. Wow! Great makeover…I’ve been wanting to do something with my master bath mirror since we moved in 7 years ago. I like the Chelsea brushed bronze. Liked MirrorMate on FB!

    Reply
  106. Pingback: MirrorMate Mirror Giveaway Winner

  109. Thanks so much for this info! I’ve been wanting to dress up our bathroom mirrow for years! I ordered samples as soon as I finished reading your success story.
    I relate to the part about “easy, esp. if you’re not the one doing the labor”! :o) blessings on your day, k

    Reply

  111. We just moved into a new to us home that has, ahem, certain mirrors. I think I would do my guest bathroom first but oh, how I would love something pretty to look at in my own bathroom.

    Fingers crossed.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *