Mirror, mirror on the wall; molding makes you beautiful

DEAR MARSHA: Almost every home comes with the standard plate glass mirror that is just attached to the wall. But you do have quite a few options to change its look and dress it up.

First, you need to decide if you want to completely remove it. Unless you are a real do-it-yourselfer it’s not a project that I would suggest that you tackle. Once it is up, a mirror is a bit of work to remove. When you get it removed, you will most likely need to have drywall repair as well as retexturing and painting. The black adhesive used is very strong and normally pulls off some of the drywall, or the adhesive stays and then has to be scrapped off.

If you decide to remove the mirror, look for a preframed mirror that will work in your space. Or, any frame shop can make a mirror to the size that you want using any molding. So, you don’t have to limit yourself to just what is in stores — although that are some great deals out there.

If you would rather not remove your mirror, there are still other creative things that you can do.

Select a frame at a frame shop and hang the empty frame on top of the mirror to give it the appearance of a framed mirror.

Use a preframed mirror and hang it directly on top of your mirror. If you’re going to mount it right onto the mirror, again make sure you know what you are doing. But you also can use a very strong adhesive.

Remember, a beveled-edge mirror always looks more expensive for the little extra cost.

Another way to get the look of a framed mirror is to attach a frame around the existing edge of your mirror. You can select a frame profile that you like, use a wood chair rail molding or a premade, precut molding package. When doing this, just be careful that the profile doesn’t project out too far and prevent your medicine cabinet from opening.

Along the same idea, place crown molding across the top and fluted molding down the sides. You can finish the pieces in the same color as your door and baseboard molding, stain it to match your cabinets, faux paint it or bring in a great accent color.

Looking for something simpler, yet elegant? Dress up the edges by applying beveled-edge mirror right on top of the mirror. There are a variety of different beveled glass colors and shapes, like diamonds, hexagons, squares, triangles, rectangles, ovals and circles.

Want more designs or patterns on the mirror’s edge? Consider glass etching. Etching has been made simple with stencils that you rub on. Then, just brush on the etching cream and rinse it off. You can use a predesigned stencil or create your own. As this is a permanent process, I would caution you to practice on a piece of mirror first just to see how the process works.

So Marsha, here are a couple options to think about. Adding details to any plain plate mirror makes a big difference.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.