I haven’t been writing as much lately because I’ve been doing home improvement projects that are consuming most of my free time. After reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do something, buying tools and supplies, and doing the actual work, I don’t have the time or energy to do much else.
It’s been a blast.
I’ve learned about miter saws, circle saws and multitools. I’ve fixed plumbing leaks, replaced door hinges, replaced rotting facia boards, and expanded my repertoire of home improvement skills. I’ve sawed, sanded, stained and painted. I am getting better at assessing when to try something myself vs. hiring a pro.
A recent project was creating custom frames for the “builder grade special” mirrors in my two bathrooms. These mirrors are basically huge rectangular pieces of glass, with no frame, border or aesthetic appeal.
After creating frames for some of my paintings it occurred to me that I could probably create frames for the mirrors, too.
As it turned out, I was right.
It was a fun project that challenged me because it required building frames from scratch, extending light fixtures further from the wall, staining/sanding/polyurethaning and attaching the frames.
It took me about a week, working a few hours each day.
I could have purchased framed mirrors which would have cost several hundred dollars each. Instead, my total cost was probably under $200, which includes purchasing a circle saw and a workbench that I’ve already used for other projects and will undoubtedly use for many years.
Here are the results:
After Framing – 2nd Mirror