I’ve wanted to make a wood framed mirror for years after seeing different versions of them on Pinterest. The obsession was born from the image below. It is my dream to create something closer to it, but wood like this doesn’t just fall into your lap.

Since we happened to have an unframed mirror begging for attention, I decided the time was ripe for a DIY project. I decided to use 1/2 inch plywood for the backer. In hindsight, it might be a bit overkill, but it makes for an extremely sturdy piece. For the framing pieces, I used two 1x6x8 pine boards. Here’s a blurry picture of me tracing around the cut pieces in our very scary basement.

I used a circular saw to cut down the plywood and a miter saw for the 1x6s. To assemble, I used wood glue to adhere three of the frame pieces, then slid the mirror in place to make sure it would fit. Then I took the mirror out, and used a cordless nail gun and 1.25″ finish nails to secure the frame pieces. I applied silicone to the back of the mirror, and with the help of my boyfriend, carefully set it in place before tacking in the bottom frame piece. With everything secured, I put a blanket over the top to protect the mirror and then weighed it down to dry overnight.

The next day I applied a couple coats of stain, let it dry, and then applied a coat of wax. That’s all she wrote! A pretty simple and quick project with major impact. I spent about $80 on materials for something that would probably cost over $200 to buy finished at a store. The bonus is that I have leftover material that will make doing a second one much less expensive.