How to Make a Floor-Length Mirror

Place a full-length mirror in your entry way for last looks on your way out the door.

Creating a floor-length mirror helps make any space look larger by allowing light to be reflected in the space. The addition of a floor-length mirror to your living space provides the perfect opportunity to check your ensemble before heading out the door. Making the mirror yourself allows you to customize the look with a frame fashioned from pieces of crown molding. Customize your frame with bright paint to make the mirror a bold focal point in the room.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• ¾ inch plywood
• Pencil
• Table saw
• Stir stick
• Latex primer
• Paint tray
• Paint roller
• Mirror glass
• Mirror adhesive
• Crown molding, 3 inches wide or wider
• Miter box
• Saw
• Latex paint
• 2 inch paintbrush
• Construction adhesive
• C-clamps
• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Thin paintbrush

Instructions

1. Measure the height of the wall where you intend to place the mirror. On a sheet of three-quarter-inch plywood, draw a rectangle about 2 inches shorter than the wall height by 36 inches wide. Use a table saw to cut out a plywood rectangle.

2. Mark a point 3 inches from the left edge of the plywood. Repeat on the remaining sides. Using the marks as guidelines, draw a rectangle on the plywood, 3 inches inside each edge

3. Stir a can of latex primer and pour it carefully into a paint tray. Cover the rectangle you drew in the previous step with primer. Apply primer with a paint roller, painting in the same direction as the wood grain. Allow the primer to dry completely. The primer supplies a clean surface for the mirror to adhere to the plywood.

4. Measure the length and width of your painted rectangle. Have the home improvement store or mirror store cut a mirror to size using these measurements.

5. Apply mirror adhesive to the back of the mirror. Center the mirror over the latex-primed rectangle. Press the mirror firmly to the primer to secure it in place.

6. Measure the outside edges of the plywood rectangle. Cut a piece of crown molding to match the length of each side. Use a miter box to miter the edges of the molding to 45 degree angles. You may also use a miter saw to miter cut the edges of the molding.

7. Place the four pieces of cut molding on a flat work surface. Paint the molding the color of your choice, painting along the grain of the wood. Be sure to paint along the edges of the back of the molding so the paint color reflects in the mirror. Leaving the back edges bare may cause plain wood to be reflected in the mirror. Allow the molding pieces to dry completely.

8. Apply construction adhesive to plywood edges surrounding the mirror. Select the painted molding piece that fits the top edge of the mirror. Press to the construction adhesive. Repeat on the remaining sides.

9. Secure the molding pieces to the frame using C-clamps. Allow the adhesive to dry completely. If necessary, sand away any seeping adhesive with a medium-grit sandpaper. Use a thin paintbrush to touch up the paint as necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Have the mirror cut to size at the home improvement store. Most home improvement stores will also cut plywood and molding to size for you, eliminating the need to use any type of saw.