Mirror Mirror

Nothing shouts "builder basic" like the giant, flat, boring bathroom mirror.

These lights are long gone (phew).

Original cabinet color...yikes.

 When I saw these lovelies at HomeGoods ($50 each), I thought they'd be the perfect replacement

First, out with the old.  Mine was just held in with a small metal track at the bottom, and 2 clamps at the top.  I unscrewed the tops, tilted out the mirror (with the Mr.'s help), and unscrewed the bottom track.

Big mirrors like these are actually rather fragile, so make sure you tape it up incase it shatters.

Once it's down, if you painted previously, you'll have something that looks a little like this.

Either pull out or push any existing anchors through the drywall, and patch your holes.

Removing the metal strip revealed a pretty wide gap between the sink backsplash and the wall.

Caulk, to the rescue.

Keeping your finger damp as you smooth out the caulk beam helps keep everything nice and smooth.

Now that the old stuff is out, we can turn our attention back to the new mirrors.

As you saw, one was metallic, the other white.  Home Goods didn't have any matching ones, but I figured I would be paining them a fun color anyway, so I didn't mind.

I did mind that this corner was a little wobbly and loose.

So, I unscrewed the backing, and saw this lovely sight - mirror glass held in with clamps, stabilized in a few spots with what looked like hot glue.  The wobbly bit was where some glue had gotten chipped off.

I took the mirrors out of both, which had the added bonus of making painting a little easier.

And sprayed them with 2 really light coats of plastic primer.

3 coats of paint later, they were ready to get re-assembled.  I used a foam brush on most of the frames, but needed a bristle brush to get in the little faux nailhead detail spots.

When I re-installed the mirrors into their frames, I ran a bead of silicone around the backs to add a little stability.

Once that was dry (and after the room had been painted and had time to dry), I found my center lines from the lights and the sink faucets, and marked where the hangers should go.

Of course, the placement of this outlet made it impossible to center the mirrors.  So they're both moved in toward the center by an inch.

Finally, here they are in their fully finished glory.  I think that's a big step in the right direction.

Of course, one project makes a million more...check here for the next parts of the saga - replacing the pokey-outey medicine cabinet, picking new paint, and prettying up the potty area ... and stay tuned for next weekend's fun - replacing the sink faucets (Wheeee!).