How To Make A DIY Horizon Mirror

This mirror is my alternative to the medicine cabinet (for those with nothing to hide!). It’s clean, modern, and unexpected. I love how it looks over my bathroom sink, but it’s welcome in other parts of the house too. Over a tall dresser, perhaps? Just be sure not to stack your gold bricks on it. The invisible shelf won’t be as strong as a bracketed shelf, but it will display your toiletries without compromise. This tutorial requires some knowledge of woodworking tools and procedures, so beginners should proceed with help from an experienced friend.

How To Make A DIY Horizon Mirror

Alright, so you're ready to make a beautiful new mirror. Here are a few things you need to make your home decor flourish with creativity!

SUPPLIES:

• – 1 1” X 6” wood board (I used white-wood)
• – 1 3/8” diameter dowel cut into 1.75” pieces. Quantity dependent on the length of your shelf (see STEP 4)
• – table saw
• – drill with 3/8” bit and countersinking bit for screws
• – box of screws
• – doweling jig
• – polyurethane satin finish
• – 1 16” round mirror
• – wood glue

STEP 1.

With a table saw, cut your 1” X 6” board to the length you want for your shelf. I chose to cut mine to 36”.

STEP 2.

Use the table saw to rip your board lengthwise into two pieces: a 1” wide piece and a 3” wide piece. Discard the excess wood.

STEP 3.

Find the place along the length of your shelf where you would like your mirror to sit. I positioned mine about 6” from the left edge of the shelf. You will also need to decide how far down you want the bottom of your mirror to sit below the shelf. The bigger you make your cutout for the mirror, the farther down it will sit. I chose to make my cutout 12” long allowing the mirror to show about 2” below the shelf, with plenty of unobstructed mirror space above. Once you’ve decided on your placement, mark where you want your cutout to be on the surface (top) edge of the 1” piece of wood. Your markings should be the width of the cutout for the mirror (12”, in my case) and the position of the cutout on the length of the shelf (6” from the left). Adjust the height of your table saw so that the blade height is just slightly taller than the thickness of your mirror. Position your wood so that your markings are facing you, and the edge of the wood that will be against the wall is against the table. Line up your right marking with the saw blade. Run the saw and slide your 1” piece of wood back and forth over the saw blade inching the wood slightly to your right between passes so that you are chewing out a window of wood between your markings.

Your cutout should look a little something like this:

STEP 4.

Find three places along the length of your board where you want your dowel pieces to go. The dowels will stick into both pieces of your shelf to hold them together and support the shelf. They should be spaced about 6” apart excluding the part of the wood with the cutout. You DO NOT want to position a dowel in front of your mirror (aka in front of your cutout)! If your mirror will sit asymmetrically on a 36” shelf like mine, you will probably want to put one dowel on the short side of the shelf (left of the mirror), and two on the longer side of the shelf (right of the mirror). If you position your mirror in the center of the shelf, an equal number of dowels on each side will be ideal. If your shelf is really long, you will need more dowels to support it. Mark the places for your dowels on the ¾” sides of both boards that will meet when attached. It’s very important that these markings line up on both sides of your shelf, so it’s easiest to line up both of your shelf pieces and clamp them together before marking. Cross each of your markings in the center of the thickness of the board, making a “bulls eye”.

STEP 5.

Center the ⅜” hole of your doweling jig over a centered bulls eye on the 3” piece of your shelf.

STEP 6.

Drill through the hole of your doweling jig with a ⅜” bit about 1.25” inches into the wood. Be conscious of keeping your drill level as you drill your hole. Unscrew the doweling jig and move it to the next bulls-eye on the 3” piece of your shelf. The doweling jig should retain its position to ensure your holes will line up. Repeat on all remaining marks on the 3” piece. Move to the 1” piece of wood and repeat, but only drill about .75” deep. If you overdo it and drill through to the other end (the side with the cutout), don’t sweat it. It will be against the wall so it won’t be seen.

STEP 7.

On the 1” piece of shelf, drill holes about every 4” or so into the same side as your dowel holes with a countersinking bit. The spacing doesn’t have to be exact, but you will want to make sure you have enough support for your shelf on the wall.

Your boards should have holes that look like this:

STEP 8.

Finish your two shelf pieces with polyurethane finish (or other finish of your choosing). Let dry.

STEP 9.

Pop your dowel pieces into the holes on the 1” side of your shelf. Then fit the 3” side over the dowels in your 1” piece. Check to see that the two sides of the shelf will align seamlessly. If all looks good, you can wiggle your dowels out of the 1” side and glue them in the holes. Only glue the dowels into the 1” side though, otherwise you won’t be able to screw your shelf to the wall!

STEP 10.

Attach the 1” piece of shelf to the wall (cutout facing the wall) by screwing into the countersunk holes. Add wall anchors before your screws if you’re drilling into drywall to strengthen your shelf.

STEP 11.

Fit your 3” piece over the dowels in the piece attached to the wall. Hang your mirror on the wall so that the bottom dips into the cutout in the shelf. Admire how much more chic you look in your new horizon mirror!

Thanks for checking out our super simple DIY horizon sunburst mirror tutorial! We hope you enjoyed making it just as much as we did! Have questions? Make sure to leave your feedback in the comments section below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Do you have a fantastic DIY project that you're just yearning to make? Ask us to make a tutorial! We love creative and inspiring new ideas. We're always looking for fresh new talent for our contributor network so make sure you get in touch! We'd love to have you write for us!

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