You may remember the herringbone fireplace insert I created (if not, check that out here!) I loved the way it turned out, and it was a lot of fun to do. Fast forward to my bath makeover planning, and I knew I needed something more substantial in the mirror department. And then it clicked; I could create a herringbone-framed mirror which would bring in the same wood tones as the interior shutters.
I began with an oval, beveled-edge mirror that I already had from IKEA. Unfortunately, they don’t make them anymore :(, but I’ve listed some other great options below.
Plan the layout – Believe it or not, I actually used Microsoft Word to plan out the width and length of my wood pieces (more detail on that here). I decided on boards 1 1/4″ W x 4″ L.
I stained my boards using this technique, then cut into 4″ lengths. As I did with the fireplace insert, I used two kinds of wood (poplar and pine) and 2 different thicknesses (1/4″ and 3/8″). The variation helped to bring out the pattern, gave it dimension,and hinted at the feel of reclaimed wood.
I centered my mirror on the plywood, tracing around the edge with a pencil. I also penciled off the center of the plywood lengthwise.
Starting at the bottom, I lined up the middle of my first piece with the middle of the plywood. The left bottom corner of the piece is lined up with the edge of the plywood. A square like the one I have here is a definitely must for this project!
I clamped the first piece down while the glue dried so I could keep laying out the pattern (pic below from fireplace project).
I then continued laying out the pattern to the edges.
At the edges, I marked and cut each board to fit. Note that you will need to make only 45 degree cuts, which makes them pretty easy. Also, the corner trim will cover up the very edge, so there is a little room for error (just the way I like it!)
To save wood and work, I did not completely fill in under the mirror. I covered over the edge of the line I traced around the mirror, and left the middle blank.
I stained corner guard (you can find it in the millwork section at your store), then mitered the corners.
I attached the trim using a bead of gorilla glue in the corner, then used my sweet nailer and 5/8″ brad nails around the edges.
In the middle of the frame, I screwed in some leftover 3/8″ boards. You can then use mirror adhesive to glue the mirror to the frame in the middle.