Power Tools Rater: How to Make a Modern “Sunrise” Floating Mirror + Shelf

Sometimes an “oops” project turns into hours of frustration or a pile of materials in the corner of the garage — and sometimes an oops gives way to a project that’s even better than the original idea! Shara is here today to show you how she turned an “oops” mirror frame incident into a beautiful modern “sunrise” floating mirror and shelf during her master bathroom remodel:

Scroll down to get all the details from Shara, and consider giving your bathroom mirror a facelift using one of these other ideas as well:

Replace the builder grade mirror with a non-traditional mirror, like we did in our family bathroom renovation:

Add a frame to the standard mirror for some easy almost-instant style

or get creative and hang the mirror on a sliding barn-style rail to accomodate a window over the sink! (This would also be fun for a recessed medicine cabinet.)

Here’s Shara with all the details of her floating mirror and shelf — leave her some love in the comments and be sure to pay her a visit at Woodshop Diaries and check out all of her different building projects!

How to Build a Floating Mirror + Shelf
by Shara from Woodshop Diaries

Hey guys!!! I’m Shara, and I’m so excited for the opportunity to share with you on Remodelaholic!! I am an engineer by day and a DIYer every other waking moment of my life. I started a little DIY blog over at Woodshop Diaries to document all my crazy projects. Sometimes it’s building a piece of furniture, sometimes it’s doing something crafty, and sometimes it’s gutting and remodeling a room…just for fun..

A little about me: My DIY obsession began when I repurposed an old window into a chalkboard. It was not a pretty project. There were definitely tears involved. But, I started out repurposing and refinishing furniture and other odds and ends, quickly transitioned into making wood signs, then quickly transitioned again into building furniture and remodeling our outdated house. I’ve been in the “building furniture and remodeling” phase for a while. I think I might stay here forever. I started a blog to show some of my projects, and to be able to look back at the “before pictures” of our house as we redid it. We recently had our two year “Homeiversary” and so much has changed since we moved in! One of the biggest changes we’ve made is remodeling our master bathroom. And that’s where one of my favorite DIY projects comes in–the Floating Mirror Shelf.

This was actually an “accidental” project. When we remodeled our bathroom, I had intentions of making a round wood frame for our mirror, but when I cut it out, I made it too thin. I was too cheap and lazy to redo it, so I tried something different with a scrap 2×4. And it worked…and only cost about $45….and looks even better than my original idea!

How to Make a Floating Mirror Shelf

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Materials:

Round mirror (mine is 36″ in diameter, purchased from a local glass shop)
2×4 (length will depend on size of mirror)
Kreg Jig
2 1/2″ Pocket hole screws
Drill
Table Saw (or you could use a router)
Level

Step 1: Get a mirror

I purchased a 36″ diameter mirror from the local glass shop. Once I got it, I determined how much of it I wanted to hang below the shelf and eyeballed the width across the mirror at that point. Remember that number. Mine was about 28″ wide and that left about 5-6″ hanging below the mirror.

Step 2: Find the studs

This is pretty self explanatory. Find and mark the studs on the wall where you want to hang the mirror.

Step 3: Determine the length of your shelf.

Locate where you want the center of your mirror on the wall and draw a line on each side of it 1/2 the length from step 1. Basically, you are just marking the location of the mirror on the wall. Now determine how long your shelf must be to hit AT LEAST 3 studs that DO NOT intersect the line you just drew. My shelf length ended up being about 54″ long. Once you have your measurement, cut your shelf this length. I used a 2×4 for the shelf.

Step 4: Mark your shelf

Now that your shelf is cut, hold it up to the wall where you want it and mark the stud locations and the center of the mirror on the shelf. Basically, you are just transferring all the marks on the wall onto your board

Then draw a line 1/2 the length from step 1 again on each side of the center of the mirror mark. So I measured 14″ from each side of the center of the mirror mark. You are just drawing a line where the mirror will sit on the board.

Step 5: Cut the slit for the mirror

Okay, now to the fun stuff. I cut the slit on my table saw. You could use a router, but a table saw was quicker and easier for me to use. I set the rip fence on my table saw to 3″ from the blade and cut the 2×4 ONLY along the line where I marked the mirror location. Don’t cut the whole board. You just want to cut where the mirror will be. The mirror was 1/8″ thick, so I had to make a couple passes on the saw for the slit. I just adjusted the rip fence a little closer to the blade (about 1/16″) after the first cut and ran it through again.

Step 6: Drill pocket holes at stud locations

Now that your slit is cut, you need to use a Kreg Jig to drill 1 1/2″ pocket holes at the stud locations you marked on the board. Make sure you drill the pocket holes at the right orientation–drill towards the back of the board. Remember, don’t drill holes at the studs where the mirror slit is cut. You cannot put a screw through the mirror!

Step 7: Attach shelf to the wall

You can finish the shelf now, or once it’s on the wall, but I recommend finishing it now. I was in too big of a hurry and had to take it down later to stain it. Once it’s finished (or not, if you are like me), line up the board with the stud marks on the wall, and use a drill to screw it into the studs with 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws. Use a level to make sure the shelf is straight.

Step 8: Place mirror in slot

Easy, peasy. Just slip the mirror into the slot (careful not to break the mirror!!) and make sure it’s not leaning. Mine set in the slot really well. If it has a tendency to lean forward, you can use a clip at the top to hold it in place if you want.