I can’t believe it’s Week 6 already and the One Room Challenge is almost complete! The finish line is in sight, just two weeks left!
I got to do a couple of fun projects this week. The first one was making a dupe of a mirror I saw on another IG account and really liked. This is a photo of the inspo.
I already had a 30″ round black mirror and found these half cut wood spheres on Amazon so I decided to make it myself for quite a bit less money!
First, I primed the wood halves with spray primer.
Once it was dry, I spray painted them with a flat black paint. Let that dry and finished with a matte enamel finish.
Next, I used a hot glue gun and simply glued the wood to the frame. I used a scrap piece of wood trim to evenly space them out. I did a dry fit first to make sure they would fit evenly and to determine how many I would need. I bought a pack of 50 wood spheres and used 40 of them with a 3/4″ space between each one.
Super easy and fun project! If you like this mirror, I’ll link the materials I used and you can make yourself one for under $100. I ended up making a second one because I liked it so much in the entryway. The second time around, I also sprayed the flat part of the wood spheres black because you could see the back of them in the reflection of the mirror which I didn’t notice until I was finished. Here are all the things you need to make your own!
The other big accomplishment for the week was making three floating shelves to go above the toilet. I’d never made floating shelves before and I’ve been reading up on all the different ways to make them. The great thing about making them yourself is you can custom fit them to any space! The dimensions of mine are 16″ long x 5 1/2″ deep x 1 1/2″ thick.
Here are the materials needed:
- 2x 1/4″ plywood 14 1/2 x 4 3/4″ for the bottoms of the shelf
- 2x 1/2″ poplar (nicer wood) 14 1/2 x 4 3/4″ for the tops of the shelf
- 3x poplar 1×2 cut to 16″ for the front trim of the shelf
- 6x poplar 1×2 cut to 6 1/2″ miter cut (3x each direction)
- 3x cheap pine 1×2 cut to 14 1/2″ for the frame
- 9x cheap pine 1×2 cut to 4″ for the frame legs
- Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner
- Wood Stain
- Polyurethane Sealer
- Foam brushes
- Wood glue
- Wood filler
- Latex gloves
- Rags
Here are the tools I used:
- Chop saw
- Orbital saw
- Kreg jig rip cut tool
- Brad nailer and 1″ nails
- Orbital sander and 80 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit and 400 grit
- Kreg jig and Kreg jig screws
- Drill and Driver
- Stud finder
- Tape measure
- Respirator
- Level
- Safety glasses
I started by cutting all of the pine 1×2’s for the frames with the chop saw. These were all straight cuts. Then I used the Kreg jig to drill holes in the short 4″ pieces to attach to the long 14 1/2″ piece. Repeat for all 3 frames.
Next I cut the nice poplar 1×2’s with mitered cuts for the trim to go on the outside of the shelves. Repeat for all 3 shelves.
Last, I cut the 1/4″ plywood for the bottoms and the 1/2″ poplar for the tops of the shelves. I used a circular saw with the Kreg jig rip cut attachment to rip these down to width and could then use the chop saw to cut them to length. If I had a table saw, I would have used that.
Once all the pieces were cut, I attached the frames to the wall. You want to attach them into studs when possible. Because my shelves were so small, I could only attach to one stud, so I used drywall anchors for the other side. Not ideal, but it works.
I pre-stained all the wood, then used a Golden Oak stain, then a White Wash on top. I did go back and put a Espresso stain on top of that and wiped it off really quick to darken it just a bit. I’ll do another post on wood staining another time.
After the frames were in place, I used the nail gun to attach the bottom of the shelf, then the top of the shelf and the trim last. I used a bit of wood glue in the corners of the trim. I filled the seams with wood filler and then touched it up with a bit of the wood stain after it was dry. And there you have it! My first floating shelves!
Like I said before, there are several different methods to make these, this is just the one I chose. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out on my first try. Let me know if you have any questions about these two projects. If you made them a different way or have any tips I’d love to hear them! Always love learning something new.
Next week I’ll be starting on the last major project which is the shower. We need to waterproof it and tile it. After that, it will be all the finishing touches. We’re getting close and I’m excited for the final reveal in just two weeks!
Check out the other great projects on the One Room Challenge blog. See you next week!
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