I think one of the best parts of being the Home Makeover Diva is getting the opportunity to review cool products. What better way to find out how a product actually works than having a chance to try it out myself firsthand. My most recent hands-on review is for MirrorMate frames.
From start to finish, this was an easy project to get going. I have to give MirrorMate credit for an easy to follow measurement sheet. They also have a video on their website explaining exactly how to measure your mirror and what to look for when filling out the measurement sheet itself. They couldn’t have made it easier. And making the process easy, is important. The mirror frames are made custom for your specific mirror size and they also take into account any side that has less than 1/2″ clearance and make the frame accordingly.
Their instructions, bundled with extra thought put into how everything comes together, makes the installation process a breeze.
The MirrorMate website is also easy to use and you can see all the different styles and colors available for purchase. You can also order MirrorMate frame samples so you can make sure the color selected is right for you. There are twenty different styles to choose from as well as multiple finishes, colors and wood tones. I myself, chose the Chelsea in Black Satin for my powder room.
Once my frame arrived it was packaged very well and had no damage from shipping. It was easy to unwrap the frame pieces and make sure all the necessary hardware was there. I also made sure to gather all the tools that the instruction sheet suggested before beginning and was even able to use the box the frame shipped to me in, to lay out protection for my carpet to make sure I didn’t get glue everywhere.
Assembly was pretty easy. You glue the joints together and then add corner connectors to hold the pieces in place. On the first one I did have a bit of trouble getting the corner it to line up exactly where I wanted it, so I took the two pieces apart and switched out the side pieces of the frame.
Once I used the other side piece it went together perfectly. The top and bottom pieces are labeled but the side ones are not. I don’t know that if it really made a difference, but it did fit together better and I did not have any more issues getting a tight fit after that.
I waited the recommended hour even though I was eager to put my mirror frame up. I used the time to clean the glass as the instructions recommended, using rubbing alcohol. MirrorMate recommends rubbing alcohol because traditional cleaners can leave a residue and can interfere with how well the frame adheres to the mirror.
Once the hour was up I grabbed help from my husband and we installed the frame onto the mirror. The included placement corners are a really big help with the MirrorMate installation!
Once you get the mirror where you want it and check to make sure it’s level, you stick the placement corners right on the glass in the top corners of the frame. That way when you are ready to hang the frame, you just remove the tape and use those placement corners as a guide to stick the frame right on the glass. Installation would have been much harder without the placement corners to help me out.
They took the guess-work out of hanging the frame. One thing to avoid when hanging your mirror frame is to avoid using anything that is not level as a guide. Initially I had a hard time getting my frame exactly where I wanted it because I kept trying to use the light fixture as a guide.
As it turned out, the light fixture was not installed level in the first place. Once I realized this, the installation ran much smoother. I’ll be replacing the builder’s grade fixture soon anyway so in the long run I won’t have to worry about that little problem.
All in all I was very impressed with MirrorMate. My frame is beautiful and was easy to assemble and install. The only downside I’ve seen from this whole project is that I have much more work to complete in this powder room now. The light fixture has to be changed to better match my frame as well as my wall color!
Disclosure: The product in this review was provided by MirrorMate, however this is NOT a paid review by any means and our findings with MirrorMate are unbiased and authentic.