I’m a big fan of items that serve multiple purposes, which is how this project came to life.
I was tired of dropping my keys in a tray beside our front door every day, where they’d get mixed up with the other stuff in the tray. In an effort to remove some of the tray clutter, I figured a hanging key rack was in order. And, since I’m slightly vain and like to minimize my bedraggled appearance before leaving the house, why not include a mirror as well?
My gentleman friend and I discussed how to best approach this project. I showed him pictures that were similar to what I wanted. We already had a small mirror with no frame, so we only had to buy the small gold hooks, frame wood (small piece of plain pine), and backing panel.
How we built it
We measured the size of the mirror to determine how large our frame pieces needed to be. I prefer the look of frame edges butting up against each other as opposed to 45-degree angle cuts (plus it’s easier to cut the wood this way; bonus). After the frame edges were sized, we cut a small groove on the inside edge of all the pieces, so, when assembled, they would create a place for the mirror to rest. We then cut the back panel to cover the whole assembled frame. The back panel was nailed into place (I think we might have used a little glue, too, for good measure), and the frame was stained.
Hindsight: Stain the frame pieces before assembling, to avoid those small gaps that show through from trying not to get stain on the mirror.
After the frame was assembled, stained, and dried, we pre-drilled small holes for the front hooks. This made sure they didn’t split the wood when trying to screw them into place. We added a picture hanger on the back, and it was ready to go to its rightful place next to our front door.
Aftermath
It’s amazing what a huge difference this mirror makes. It’s lovely being able to hang up my keys every day (or seeing the empty spot reminds me that my keys are still in my coat pocket). The mirror part doesn’t get much use in the winter, since my entire head is covered with hats, scarves, and hoods, and appearance doesn’t matter as much as warmth. Throughout the other seasons, though, I take a quick glance in that mirror every time I leave the house.
We got this done in a weekend (we added extra time to make sure that stain was D-R-Y), so it wasn’t time consuming. It was also relatively inexpensive, since we had some of the materials already on hand.
Honestly, this mirror makes me happy every time I look at it…and that’s not just because of the good-lookin’ gal staring back at me.
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