Before & After: Bathroom Mirror Makeovers

by hookedonhouses on April 14, 2008

Have you got a flat, lifeless, plate-glass type of mirror like this in your bathroom? Have you ever wondered what it would look like with a nicer framed mirror over your sink instead? Then check out these bathroom mirror makeovers, starting with this one. I think you’ll be amazed by what a difference a new mirror can make!

It instantly upgrades everything, doesn’t it? True, they changed a few other details in the room to make it look more decorated, but the primary, and most noticeable, change is the mirror.

Here’s another example of a bathroom before:

And after, with a frame:

It’s all way too busy for me with the wallpaper and the pattern in the frame, but even I can see that it looks better framed than not. It turns the vanity and mirror into a focal point for the room.

Does anyone have one of these mile-long mirrors in their master bath? I do! Mine is “seamless,” though, and I have no idea how to remove it–and get it downstairs and out the door and to the curb without killing myself (what a way to go–flattened by a mirror!). We removed the smaller ones from our other bathrooms and even they were a challenge. (They weigh more than you’d think.)

First, the bathroom before:

And after, with floating frames over each sink:

I’m not a big fan of the floating frame look, but that’s just my personal preference. It’s an interesting idea to do this instead of paying to frame the entire mile-long mirror, I suppose!

Here’s one more naked mirror, before:

And after:

If these makeovers don’t convince you to ditch your plain-jane bathroom mirrors, I don’t know what would. Now I’m even more eager than ever to get rid of mine.

These makeovers were created with a new product called Mirror Mates, which allows you to choose the frame you want for your mirror and easily install it. From what I can tell by watching the How-To video on their website, it looks as easy as sticking them on with adhesive that comes with the frames. Even I could handle that!

The company was started by a woman named Lisa Huntting, who was tired of removing the old mirrors and wanted an easier way to give her bathrooms an updated look.

Lisa says:

I thought I was finished decorating my master bath, but the most dominant features, after the spa tub, were those huge, bare mirrors above the vanities. They cried out for frames. But framing them would be way too expensive. And I didn’t even want to think about taking them down (how would I throw them away?) and replacing them! Thus was born MirrorMate™ Frames, the easy way to turn a bare mirror into a work of art.

I just love it when someone takes a problem that they’ve had and finds a solution that can help all of us who are struggling with the same thing.

(I just realized this is starting to sound like a commercial. Mirror Mates is not paying me anything to talk about them, I promise! They could be crap for all I know. Why doesn’t someone try them for us and let us know if they really work? Can I see a show of hands?)

Tomorrow I’m going to show you what a difference a new mirror made in my daughter Lily’s bathroom. You think these bathroom makeovers were dramatic? Hers started out as just a little white box with no storage, a gigantic plate-glass mirror, a hideous brass “Hollywood” light fixture, and a serious case of the blahs. With some paint, some crown molding, some new storage and cheap but colorful accessories–along with a new mirror!–we turned it into a bright and fun space for a little girl.

I first read about Mirror Mates at Addicted2Decor (a fun site to check out!). Before and after photos courtesy Mirror Mates.

If You’re Hooked on Before & Afters:



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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Marie April 15, 2008 at 7:14 am

I can’t wait to see what you did in your daughter’s bathroom! I loved this post! As you know, my husband framed out the mirrors in our master bath almost immediately after we moved in. What a difference it makes. I don’t like the look of a piece of glass/mirror glued to the wall- at all. I’m still considering the shutters for my other bathroom. :o )

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2 Linda macDonald April 15, 2008 at 7:45 am

What great before and after photos and an even better link! You’ve made it even easier for those who want to do a mirror make-over. I love your site!!

Linda

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3 wanderluster April 15, 2008 at 8:02 am

Great transformations. I really dislike the freefloating mirror look…reminds me of the cheap rental apartments in my past, lol.

If you want to remove the mirror, its not too difficult. First remove any visible clips holding up the mirror. Then take some picture hanging wire and run it in a “see-saw” motion down the back. This will cut through any adhesive. Voila, mirror comes off.

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4 Amateur Tightwad April 15, 2008 at 8:14 am

Can’t wait to see Lily’s bathroom redo. Our upstairs bath is in serious need of some revamping. We also have the “Hollywood” lighting, which has officially gotten on my nerves this week. I’ll be tuned in first thing tomorrow. :)

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5 JLB April 15, 2008 at 9:44 am

I love using a “normal” mirror over the bathroom sink. It instead of the long “hotel” one. Replacing it was the first thing I did when we moved into this house.
There are a few tips to removing it though. It all depends on if it was glued to the wall or put up using brackets.

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6 JLB April 15, 2008 at 9:44 am

wanderluster is on the right track with the picture wire removal technique. It really works.

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7 Amy April 15, 2008 at 9:47 am

Very cool! It isn’t something I’ve thought of but once I saw it I thought “oh, yeah, how did I ever live without it”. Great post, thanks!

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8 hookedonhouses April 15, 2008 at 9:55 am

Thanks, Wanderluster! Clearly, I should’ve consulted with you before taking our other two mirrors down. I’m so glad to know this trick now! -Julia :-)

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9 Kathy :) April 15, 2008 at 12:55 pm

This is such a great idea…..love it….we have just the mirror too……we wanted to do something in this bathroom and this will be great.

Is anyone else having trouble getting on to the site or is it just me :( mirrormate.com right ??/

Thanks,
Kathy :)

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10 Kimberlie April 15, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Wow! I am definitely going to do this in my bathroom! :)

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11 hookedonhouses April 15, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Yay! We have our first guinea pig! (er…volunteer) :-)

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12 Sharla April 15, 2008 at 4:26 pm

I’ve tried the mirrormates link here and every link that came up after googling it and no site will come up. Am I missing something or is it down?

Thanks.

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13 hookedonhouses April 15, 2008 at 4:40 pm

I’m puzzled as to why so many people seem to be having trouble logging onto the website. Here’s the address for their homepage: http://www.mirrormate.com. Try that (I think I linked to their photo gallery in the post).

I just tried the links again and they’re still working for me. Made my husband try it on his computer and it popped right up for him, too. Maybe the site is coming and going? So try again in a few minutes, I guess. Sorry I can’t be of more help than that, you guys! -Julia

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14 Courtney @ nestinginstincts April 15, 2008 at 5:07 pm

great post Julia! I may have to send my readers here to check it out – it’s right up our alley. (I saw this product somewhere briefly but had forgotten what it was called…where to find it…etc…I’m lucky I remember my middle name sometimes)

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15 Shalet April 16, 2008 at 4:18 pm

OK – I am convinced!

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16 Jeri April 17, 2008 at 5:05 pm

How do you remove a frame from a bathroom mirror and reframe? I don’t know what kind of glue was used.

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17 Karen September 6, 2008 at 10:44 am

I used mirror mates in my son’s bathroom and it turned out great. I had removed my daughter’s bathroom mirror and then had to prep and paint behind it. We then had to lug the old mirror and call for a special trash pickup for it. I felt bad knowing it was going into a landfill. I then had to purchase a framed mirror. When the time came to my son’s bathroom I thought that I would try mirror mates. The cost was about the same as the framed mirror for my daughter’s bathroom. It went up very easily with the help of another person and it looks great. The best part is that it is not going into a landfill. I am getting ready to order another one for my very large mirror in my master bath.

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18 April October 5, 2008 at 10:51 pm

I would like to use mirror mates in my master bathroom, but I have a problem. My husband’s vanity has just one mirror so it will fit great there, but my side has a regular vanity mirror, but then is side by side to another mirror that dips down lower for my make up area. So my question is, how do I put mirror mates around that? I’ve been trying to figure out a solution and I’m not impressed with the one sample of before and afters where you put the frames in the center of the mirrors. What can we do to make this work?

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19 Sasr24 February 15, 2009 at 6:30 pm

A BIG thank you to wanderluster! I was stuck on how to get the plate glass mirror off the wall and the picture hanging wire worked like magic!

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20 michelle April 17, 2009 at 12:36 pm

http://www.reflecteddesign.com does frames for big existing mirrors too. they have a ton to choose from and their shipping is really cheap.

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