# Would this look weird?



## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

In my bathroom, I just installed a large mirror over the sink/toilet. There were previously two mirrored medicine cabinets there, and the idea was to move them to the opposite wall once the mirror went up.

So, the mirror's up now, and I am about to install the mirrored medicine cabinets on the opposite wall, but realized something - it will create that 'infinity effect' (where you'll see yourself X infinity because of the two mirrors). I never even thought of that, I just thought it'd be cool to be able to see the back of your head w/o having to get a handheld mirror, and now right before the installation, I'm starting to think the infinity effect may make it look a little weird.

Any thoughts on this? I attached pics of the medicine cabinets when they were in the wall above the toilet/sink, and pics of the current mirror that's in that spot now.


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

It would be wierd, but cool at the same time... I personally wouldn't install it though... :whistling2:


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

AHhhhh!! I'm sooo torn! I'm gonna prep the medicine cabinets (they're all rusted on the inside, so need some heavy sanding and primer before I can even contemplate re-installing), I'll think about it more. I really like the idea of being able to have a mirror in front / behind you simultaneously, it just seems really cool, but it will have the infinity effect no matter what... guess I'm just wondering how dramatic it will be, I don't want it to seem like a circus attraction / house of mirrors when you need to go to the bathroom!! I work solo here, at some point I'll be able to have someone hold them in place where they'd be mounted and we can see how bad the effect is!


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

The other thing is that if the room in not perfectly square, the infinity effect will angle and curve off, that would also make it even more strange...


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

Room's definitely not a perfect square (although I thought that was pretty normal? Especially in older places like mine!).

Gonna have to have someone hold them in place and check it out, don't want to do this project to find that I hate the result!


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

Most aren't perfect squares, I was just stating the obvious... :wink:


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## jkchapp2 (Aug 28, 2007)

*Suggestion*

First of all, do you need both medicine cabinets??? Is there enough room between the corner and the light switch, to install your left-hinged cabinet. When you want to see the back of you head, open medicine cabinet door to the right angle. Just a suggestion.


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

jkchapp2 said:


> First of all, do you need both medicine cabinets??? Is there enough room between the corner and the light switch, to install your left-hinged cabinet. When you want to see the back of you head, open medicine cabinet door to the right angle. Just a suggestion.


I was thinking of putting one there (and the other on the wall behind the door, or maybe just not up at all). It does fit there (technically), and actually it can open either way left or right depending upon placement. The only problem is there's a stud going right through where it would go there, so I'd need to cut the stud, which means bracing that stud some other way, and I think that's a bit beyond my skill level....


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## TommyB (Oct 28, 2007)

*mirrors*

Joey- a thought and a question.

I'm a nubie. I can't help you with your dilemma, but I'm sort of doing something similar. Hanging a mirror like the one you have just done (please tell me how you did it- spare no info). That's 1 question.

Then I'm going to put up a mirrored bathroom cabinet too. (tell me how you did that too- spare no info- remember I'm a nubie). That's my second question.

I'm putting the cabinet on one of the walls to the side of the mirror for exactly that purpose- too see the back of my head. Here's the thing. You won't see the back of your head if both mirrors are facing each other exactly, because you will be standing in the way of the reflection. Does that make sense? If one of the mirrors is on a slight angle, then you will see the back of your head, just off to the side of your own reflection.

I'm putting the cabinet on the side wall (perpendicular to the main mirror, so when I open the door of the cabinet at the right angle I'll have the effect you are talking about.

Can you help me? And has my info been any help at all?

Tom


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

TommyB said:


> Joey- a thought and a question.
> 
> I'm a nubie. I can't help you with your dilemma, but I'm sort of doing something similar. Hanging a mirror like the one you have just done (please tell me how you did it- spare no info). That's 1 question.
> 
> ...


Well the mirrors I want to put up on the opposite wall are medicine cabinets so they'll open and allow whatever angles I want, I think I'm going to put one on the side wall and one directly across from the mirror, but outdoor projects have taken me away from that for the next couple weeks anyways.

About putting up the mirror, here's the link to what I did (if you search my username for threads started by me, most of them end up with pictures if they're project threads, I like pics of my work!). That said, I do want to beef up the bracing on it, I still check the brackets weekly to verify they're looking solid. I also plan to do something for the edges - partially to do away with the 'raw' look, but more so that I can put even more brackets on and just hide them with that plastic mirror trim stuff. But here's how that mirrror went up:
http://www.diychatroom.com/showthread.php?t=10440
(the first pics showed the two medicine cabinets already removed, those were just unscrewed, drywall cut to fit (home depot had small drywall scraps for under a buck and they fit fine!), I used general purpose drywall compound - and I didn't worry about how smooth it came out since it was to be covered!!!)


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

http://www.diychatroom.com/showthread.php?t=10248
here's the thread of the original medicine cabinets and the removal/patch up (the only thing that wasn't real obvious here I think was that I had to use 'cleats' to get the drywall up, basically just installing a chunk of wood to the framing studs so there'd by something to screw the drywall into)


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

for general help of others I figured I'd just put the link to the mirror install here too:
http://www.diychatroom.com/showthread.php?t=10440


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## inarut (Oct 26, 2007)

*wouldn't look weird*

Hahaha -- I just did the same thing, but in reverse. I had a large mirror over the sink & toilet and needed the storage of a medicine cabinet. So I bought 2 42" long medicine cabinets and installed them over the sink & toilet and moved the large mirror to the back wall. I can now perfectly see the back of my head by opening the medicine cabinet doors!! I don't notice that infinity effect. I know what you mean, but if it's even there, I don't notice it. And I think if it is there in your bathroom, you learn to visually tune it out. I say go for it... the more mirrors, the more light you create and the bigger your bathroom appears. :thumbup:


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## duckluva1 (Oct 28, 2007)

*More mirrors merrior*

Without a doubt, go for more mirrors. Seeing the back of your head:thumbup: or your backside comes in handy rather than asking someone to 'take a look'.
I've seen the parallex view (infinity) and it doesnt look weird, seeing the back of my head coming out of the shower or my back if it been biten by bugs or a dog- priceless. I live alone and wont go running out to the street asking "look for me" as long as I've mirrors that face each other somewhere in the house, Personally the best place is the bathroom where you shower and have ample lighting already in place to watch your own back,check for bites, cuts, scratches, by yourself.


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## Kitchen sinks (Oct 22, 2007)

:thumbup: pretty cool to me...two mirrors or more mirrors inside your bathroom...don't have to let somebody check your back or you don't have to turn around and check your back...pretty convenient on your part...i think i'm going to install one right now in my own bathroom


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

don't forget the finished pics!!


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

mine's done, infinity effect is there but it's not bad, and if you keep the medicine cabinet slightly opened the infinity effect goes away so it's not bad at all!


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## kjwoodworking (Nov 21, 2007)

This is a little late but I wanted to add the idea of adding a wood frame around the mirror. It could be painted to match the door molding or stained.....your choice....I thought it may add a more finished look.

If the mirrored medicine cabinets are too much the maybe remove the doors and replace them with doors made from plywood with molding around the edges and painted to match the other moldings in the bathroom.

post more pics how ever you end up finishing it. I'd like to see..

Hope my ideas help


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

ha! totally forgot my finish pics!!

Well, here's the pics.

Pic1 - original wall with 2 mirrored medicine cabinets
pic2 - medicine cabinets removed / wall re-rocked, new mirror up with beefy brackets
Pic3-5 - final product, mirror up with edges and fully finished.


Now, the way I did this was pretty damn simple to be honest (and INSANELY cheap - the mirror was free and somehow fit perfectly there - materials were the trim pieces which were well under $20, and maybe another $10 max on spray paint and if you factor in the other proudcts I used like liquid nails, spackle, silicone, etc).

I cut appropriate lengths of my trim, which was like $0.50/linear foot (already primed from teh store too!), and bought 4 corner pieces (I don't have a table, so cutting 45 degree angles precisely was out of the question haha).

Used a high gloss rustoleum white spray paint on the 4 cut trim pieces and the 4 corner pieces.

Put that mirror up with waaay more securing hardware than before to be safe.

lined up my pieces and used liquid nails (glue stuff) to adhere directly to the mirror. This was kind of a pain because it didn't want to keep them perfectly in place, so I had to use painter's tape to position them for the first hour or so to keep them in place. <<<I should not that this build does not allow a removal - the hardware is encased here, this mirror cannot be moved or anything, if it needs to come down in the future I'm the only one who may be able to do it w/o having to shatter the mirror, as I kept tabs on where all the brackets were originally. Even still, it'd probably be easier to just smash it off and do another if I needed to, though I won't any time soon because I love how this came out.

I then used spackle where the casing met the corner pieces, maybe 2 applications, then used a fine instrument to detail the spackle so it'd flow nicely and look like it was jointed properly by someone who actually knew how to do this kidn of thing haha. 

The spackle didn't match the gloss on the spraypainted pieces though, so I sprayed that spraypaint into a small cap and used a q-tip to paint the spackle spots (the blend was great, surprisingly).

Final step was to silicone (white) the spot where the trim met the glass, both for practical reasons (moisture intrusion), and for a more seamless look where the mirror met the casing. 



<<in some of the final mirror pics you can see one of the medicine cabinets that was on that wall originally is now on the opposing wall>>


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

(I should add that, the medicine cabinet that I swapped, was completely redone as well, couldn't have that junky unit in there!! That got a full sand/clean, prime, then high gloss white finish before going into the opposing wall from where it used to be when I got this place)


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## kjwoodworking (Nov 21, 2007)

Looking good!! The molding around the mirror looks sweet!!!!

You did a good job!


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## panhandlion (Nov 26, 2007)

I lived in a rental house one time that had that effect going on and let me tell you... IT GETS OLD FAST....

now in the bedroom......... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... it could be a lot more fun :thumbup:


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## RTRCon (Nov 20, 2007)

Looks good.. Nice job:thumbsup:


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

thanks for the comments guys :thumbsup: 

panhandlion, you should've seen the bedroom mirroring in my last place (my college apt), was pretty cool :laughing:


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## SEOVivian (Oct 28, 2007)

*my opinion*



joeyboy said:


> In my bathroom, I just installed a large mirror over the sink/toilet. There were previously two mirrored medicine cabinets there, and the idea was to move them to the opposite wall once the mirror went up.
> 
> So, the mirror's up now, and I am about to install the mirrored medicine cabinets on the opposite wall, but realized something - it will create that 'infinity effect' (where you'll see yourself X infinity because of the two mirrors). I never even thought of that, I just thought it'd be cool to be able to see the back of your head w/o having to get a handheld mirror, and now right before the installation, I'm starting to think the infinity effect may make it look a little weird.
> 
> Any thoughts on this? I attached pics of the medicine cabinets when they were in the wall above the toilet/sink, and pics of the current mirror that's in that spot now.


I think it is not weird i think is funny!
:wink:


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

Think is funny de mirror, ore is funny dah spam iin ur seegnature? :laughing:


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## kiwi54 (Dec 10, 2007)

Sorry folks but I just gotta ask. If you place your big mirror on one wall and the cabinets on the other, unless you off-set the cabinets in such a way as to point to the back of your head and place them a little wider so as to see the reflection past the back of your head, or open the doors each time you want to see the back of your head and still place them a little wider apart........mmmmmmm
We have two mirrors on opposite walls, still haven't seen the back of my head through them and didn't want to which is why they're both flat against their respective walls.....


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## joeyboy (Apr 10, 2007)

hmm dunno - likely that the walls and/or the the medicine cabinet are not 100% true/plumb/level. I know that a while back when I actually went to mount the big mirror, it was a nightmare because the wall bowed forward in an uneven manner, somewhere around the middle of the mirror (going towards the ceiling) the wall started bowing out towards me a little bit. So that mirror's unlikely to be 100%. The medicine cabinet sits flush against the drywall so I didn't even check it for forward/back level, just for side to side, but even the spot where the hinge connects the mirror to the cabinet may not be 100% true.


(although, now that I think of it, I can also see myself a little if in my living room on 2 opposing mirrors, one is a simple mirror hung with string/screw, the other is a whole mirror wall.. This house is from ~1970, maybe it just gets funhouse style after a while lol!)


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