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Maybe this is an outdated look now because we couldn't find much to buy off the shelf and the mirrors available were really expensive or the wrong size. But we(wife) really wanted something like this for the space, so I decided to DIY this mirror.
There are potentially couple of different ways to do this, but I followed the following steps as it felt easier for me.
Materials
- Mirror to fit your space, I used an 80cm round mirror.
- Sisal rope, I went with 12mm based on cost vs look
- Jute twine, to cover the joints
- Glue sticks
- Epoxy glue
- Blue painters' tape
Tools
- Sharp blade and scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Almost helpful partner to hold things in place while you glue
Steps
Step 1
First step is to prep your mirror. If your mirror doesn't have a frame, then potentially you can skip this step.
Our mirror had a metal frame and a MDF backing, we removed the frame and made sure the MDF backing is securely glued on to the mirror. It was already glued on, but I still used some epoxy glue to make sure it is glued securely as the mirror will be hung on the wall off the MDF backing.
Step 2
Start from the outer edge of the mirror and start laying the rope. Note: The rope is not glued on to the mirror at this point.
The outer loop is only held in place with blue tape and the end glued together with hot glue. Then you lay the 2nd loop by alternating the joint to the other end of the 1st joint, then you hot glue the 2nd loop to the 1st loop. Keep going until you have the number of loops that look good.
Step 3
Use plenty of glue between the loops as this is what is going to keep them together. Don't worry about the glue being visible on top, as you will flip this to the other side at the end. So, the side facing up while you work through the loops will be the side you paste on to the mirror at the end.
And make sure to alternate the joint to each side for better strength. This is the reason I did it for, maybe it is overkill
Step 4
Now flip the rope and place on top of the mirror. You can use the thin jute rope you got to loosely wrap around the joints on either end. We went with 2, but depending on the design you want you can wrap few more spots.
Once you are happy with the placement of the rope on top of the mirror, now you can lift it slightly, so it doesn't move around and start adding epoxy glue at few different places between the mirror and the rope. We used a lot to be confident it is securely attached to the mirror
Step 5
Additional step: I didn't like the fact that you can see the mirror from the side. So, I added 1 extra outer loop that sticks out of the mirror and another loop that was glued behind to cover the side of the mirror. This gives a thicker look as well.
This step is totally optional depending on your mirror and the look you are after.
Step 6
Last step is to hang the mirror. The mirror had 2 mounting points at the back, unfortunately these didn't line up to studs for me. I could have easily gone with some heavy-duty wall anchors, but I wanted to mount this on the studs for extra security.
So, I went with the overkill solution. I had few screws and scrap piece of pine. Spray painted the pine black so it will not be too visible from the side and attached this to the 2 studs. Once that is up, I was able to measure the mounting points and attach 2 screws to the piece of wood which the mirror will hang off.
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