mrs. frakes: mirror mirror on the wall

My friend Carol. Man. That girl is full of inspiration. And energy!

When she made this design board for my guest bathroom, I fell instantly in love.

My only problem was the cost. We hadn't originally planned to update that guest bathroom. Suddenly we were adding cost to the mounting remodel cost. We had already been blindsided by a new HVAC system at the tune of $6,000 and water in our breakfast room air ducts which resulted in a new french drain. Oh! A french drain? Would you like the $4,000 model or the $1,500 one? Either way, it was money we hadn't planned to spend.

So I tried to create Carol's beautiful bathroom, but it fell short. The shower curtain came in and it was 6 inches too long. Cue new curtain. The cute pink rug was really expensive. Cue pink bath mat from Bed Bath and Beyond. The beautiful mirror? Ix-nayed by the hubs. I was trying. But I just couldn't pull off the darling bathroom on the inspiration board.

We did find the tile at a price we could stomach and installation wasn't that much more, considering they were already there to install the kitchen tile. So we took the plunge. BEST DECISION. The floor makes the bathroom!

I also FINALLY and ON A WHIM found the knobs I'd been searching for for MONTHS at Hobby Lobby. {{{swooooon}}}

And I settled into this bathroom redo with some satisfaction. I wasn't done yet, but I was okay with what I stared at each time I walked to my bedroom.

UNTIL. One day I went antique shopping with that now-famous friend, Carol. I was telling her that I loved the idea she had given me for updating my mirror with cedar wood planks. I'm good with a saw, but I'm not a master angle cutter. I don't have a table saw!

And then she did it once again. She told me I didn't need angles! (What?? I'm a little {ok maybe a lot} OCD and tend to a be a box thinker. You mean I could do this with straight lines??)

I went straight home that day and started measuring.

I went to Lowe's where they cut the wood for me. (Did you know they'll do that?? YES! For free!)

I brought those babies home and stained them right up! And then with a little liquid nails and the resolve of a woman in need of new shoes, I MADE THAT THING HAPPEN.

Now, what you see here are the two sides of a cedar wood. I stained both to see which look I preferred. I used the rough side but either are beautiful, really.

Once I had them up, I taped them down with painters tape to keep them in place overnight. I glued the wood directly onto the mirror. And voila! In the morning it was like a new room.