Round Sliding Bathroom Mirror

I shared my bathroom reveal this week. Thank you for all the kind comments on the post and on social media. I have been enjoying leaving the door open instead of feeling like I had to keep the door close to hide its ugliness.

There is one more thing I have yet to share about my bathroom. My mirror has a secret.

I knew I wanted a round mirror offset all the corners (the square tiles, the rectangle shape of the room, the window, and the vanity) but I was torn because when we took down the old bulky medicine cabinet, it revealed the little nook for the original cabinet. I wanted to use the little inset area as a medicine cabinet. I love that our house has so many fun little built ins and nooks :) Round mirrors don’t open with hinges like a square or rectangle mirror would so I had to come up with a solution.

My idea? Drawer slides! I now have a round sliding bathroom mirror!

I measured the mirror and figured out the right size of drawer slides and how big the nook could be. The nook was quite long so we ended up adding 2x4s and made it about 8 inches shorter so the mirror would cover the whole thing. You can see in the picture that I traced the mirror with pencil so I knew for sure where it would be and what it would cover.

Supplies:

(links are affiliate)

3/4″ Plywood

Jigsaw

Drill

Wood stain

Small foam brush

1. Figure out what size hinges to use based on your mirror size and nook size. The mirror is 24 inches and I used 16 inch drawer slides that are fully extendable. Because the mirror is round and is narrower at the top and bottom, you can’t use drawer slides that are 24 inches. I held it up to the nook and marked where the top and the bottom lined up to the mirror and that is how I came up with 16 inches.

2. Attach wood to back of mirror. In order to attach the drawer slides to the mirror, I had to add wood to the back of the mirror. I traced the mirror onto some 3/4 inch plywood and then cut out the circle using a jigsaw. The mirror came with metal hanging plates on the back that stick out about 1/2 inch, so after I cut out the circle, I cut out two holes that lined up with the metal plates so the mirror would be flush against the wood. Use a type of adhesive that is meant for mirrors. Allow it to fully cure before moving on the the next step.

3. Cover rough edges. I didn’t want the plywood edge to be what you saw. I wanted a more polished look so I bought edging tape. It is a thin wood veneer with a heat activated backing. I cut it to the length I needed to go all the way around the mirror and then used an iron (according to the instructions) to adhere the ending to the plywood. It also serves to hide the slight gap between the mirror and plywood.

4. Stain and seal. Once it has cooled, I stained it with Minwax’s Provincial stain and when the stain had dried I then sealed it. I used a small brush and was careful not to get any on the mirror. You could tape it off if your wanted to.

5. Attach the drawer slides to the back of the mirror and the wall. I attached half of the drawer slides to the back of the mirror, using a level to make sure they were perfectly straight. The after double checking the measurements, I attached the other half of the drawer slides to the wall. I waited until Shane got home to help me slide the mirror’s half of the drawer slides into the wall’s half. The mirror with the added plywood is quite heavy and I didn’t want to risk dropping it while carefully trying to connect the drawer slides.

*It is important to note that the drawer slides are attached to 2x4s in the wall and we used extra long screws (not the short ones the drawer slides came with).

I am so happy I was able to utilize the little nook, gain extra storage space, and have the round mirror I wanted.

Do you have anything you have made for your house that solved a problem? I would love to hear about your projects!

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