Do you ever look at something in a store or online and think “I could make that”, or “if I could make something similar, I could save a lot of money”? I find myself saying both quite often but finding the time to make everything I see that I think I could make, just isn’t possible. I’m sure you know what I mean.
When I was planning the design for the beach house bathroom I had to design everything around the bold, whale wallpaper B really wanted. Because the wallpaper is so bold, I really wanted to keep everything else pretty simple and neutral.
B built a beautiful white oak vanity table, and all the walls were painted a lovely white (Sherwin Williams Pure White). I found lovely, gold, nautical inspired lights for the ceiling and above the vanity that ended up being my favorite part of the space.
When it came time to decide on a mirror for above the vanity, I kept finding myself drawn to rope style mirrors but was so discouraged at how expensive many of them were at the size I wanted. I originally found the mirror of my rope themed dreams at Serena & Lily but after the wallpaper splurge, I just couldn’t bring myself to paying several hundred dollars.
I decided to make something on my own. I mean, how hard can it be to glue rope to a mirror?
It actually was a pretty simple project that took maybe an hour of time. I definitely saved myself a ton of money by making my own and I was able to make it my own.
This simple DIY project is a really easy and affordable way to add a little coastal style to your space, whether for a bathroom like mine or for any space in your home.
DIY Coastal Rope Mirror
What you need:
Frameless round mirror: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selections-28-in-L-x-28-in-W-Round-Beveled-Wall-Mirror/1000364917
Rope: (I used two sizes) Michaels (https://www.michaels.com/natural-jute-rope-by-ashland/10347682.html and https://www.michaels.com/ashland-jute-rope-natural/10361960.html)
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks:
Scissors or Utility knife
Roughly an hour of time
The amount of rope you need requires a bit of math. You need to determine the circumference of the size mirror you plan to wrap. It was important for us to do this because the rope from Michaels is pre-cut in shorter lengths. Our 28″ mirror worked out almost perfectly with one strand of the wider rope so no cutting was needed for the outermost row of rope.
Once I was ready to begin, I first made sure my rope was going to work by doing a dry fit around the edge. Once I was confident my rope was the correct size, I placed a strand of hot glue onto the edge of the glass, just inside the actual edge and attached my rope. By gluing in smaller sections, I was sure the glue wouldn’t cool before attaching the rope.
Once I was all the way around the first row, I started the second row inside the first. I did a dry-fit again this time needing to trim off the excess. My rope started unraveling once cut so I used a small amount of hot glue on the very tip to keep the strands together. I made sure not to use too much that would impact the clean row of rope.
Originally I had planned to do just two rows of rope but once I had them in place, B and I agreed with it needed a third. Depending on the size of your mirror and the size rope you used, you may only need two rows or find that you need more than three. Just remember, this is your mirror, there is no right or wrong. It’s all about what you like and the look you are going for.
The third row of rope went on just like the second. I had to trim more off this time around but the process was exactly the same.
Once my rows were in place, it was time for the thinner rope. I used this to cover up the seam where the edges of the larger rope came together.
I wasn’t sure how many rows of this smaller rope I’d need or how to best go about attaching them so I just went for it.
I purposely cut my lengths of rope a bit longer than I knew I needed. I started by gluing the ends on the inside of the mirror and then ran beads of glue across the larger rope to clue the smaller rope to them. When gluing the ends, I used the edge of my scissors to make sure all the strands were tucked into the glue so that it had a clean edge. Not sure if this makes sense, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to leave a comment or email me I did not take as many photos as I should have.
I glued the ends of the smaller rope on the outside edge the same way I did on in inside and then trimmed off any excess rope from the back of the mirror.
Mine weren’t perfect, but that’s OK.
This project cost me about $65 in total and took about an hour of time. I already had the glue gun, glue sticks and utility knife so my only expenses was the mirror (price has increased since I purchased mine) and the rope.
This was a fairly easy project that didn’t take a lot of time. It’s the perfect addition to our fun little bathroom.
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