How to make a make-up mirror with your own hands?
A make-up mirror today is the dream of many girls, because this piece of furniture not only gives the room a zest, but also allows you to perfectly cope with applying makeup. If the models presented in the store are not very popular with the owner of the apartment, such a mirror can be made with her own hand.
Choice of style and design
A do-it-yourself make-up mirror can be of various sizes and shapes. For example, the design can be round or oval, square, rectangular, or even octagonal. The floor construction, made without a frame, is also popular.
Geometric designs in the form of a square or rectangle with a width of 50 cm are considered classic examples of make-up mirrors.
Larger options are chosen only when the free space of the room allows.
Oval mirrors fit perfectly into classic interiors, and full-length mirrors not only allow you to complete your makeup, but also fully appreciate your outfit. As a rule, the second variety is framed in white, black or silver shades.
Since the drawings of the dressing room mirrors, in principle, practically coincide, you can take one basic schema as a basis, and then adapt it according to your own preferences. Of course, the main requirement for a mirror design is its compliance with the overall concept of the interior.
Necessary materials
A number of basic materials are required to make a make-up mirror. In fact, you will have to prepare boards and bulbs with sockets, and switch with a wire and a plug for the mains. Of course, you cannot do without the tools used to process materials, that is drills with drills and abrasive paper.
For the decorative design of the structure, it will be necessary to prepare paints and varnishes, stain and glue. The mirror itself will also have to be attached to something.
A structure made of solid wood will turn out to be beautiful and reliable, but as a more economical option, you should use laminate or chipboard.
Most often for creating furniture pine board is used, when buying which it is important to keep track of the minimum number of knots, especially in those places that interfere with drilling. Nevertheless, the pine board becomes cracked over time, as a result of which the mirror bends, and therefore this material cannot be called durable.
To create a high-quality piece of furniture, it is better to use a more expensive furniture board.
It is recommended to select only LED bulbs for the make-up mirror. It is better to take a matte flask, so that its light is not harsh, but soft and diffusing. The optimal glow temperature is 4000K, although figures equal to 4100K or 4200K are also considered acceptable. If you buy just such a light bulb, you will be able to create a white neutral light, ideal for applying makeup.
By the way, it is enough to mount the bulbs only on the top and on the sides. The bottom row only increases the cost of the equipment, moreover, it often interferes with the work of the makeup artist.
The optimal light output of a self-made make-up mirror ranges from 3 to 4 watts, although an indicator equal to 5 watts can also be used. It is important that there is no ripple. Select sockets according to the bulbs used.
There are options made of ceramics, silicone or highly resistant plastic that is not afraid of thermal effects. It should be added that many professionals recommend purchasing exactly LED options. Such lamps can serve for more than two years, do not break when dropped and practically do not heat up.
Manufacturing recommendations
To make a beautiful backlit makeup artist mirror yourself, you need to follow the detailed instructions step by step. Even before the start of installation work, it is better to decide on the appearance of the structure. For example, in a minimalistic bedroom, filled with clear geometric shapes, a square or rectangular mirror will look better, and for a romantic boudoir in the style of Provence, an oval frame is much more suitable.
A floor mirror that allows you to see yourself in full growth is recommended to be placed in spacious rooms with high ceilings, decorated in one of the modern styles.
In addition, it would be nice to make a frame in such a way that so that it "echoes" the decorative elements available in the space.
Assembling the frame
The first step in creating a make-up mirror is to assemble the frame. To create a frame, you will need 4 pairwise equal bars - two short and two long. Determining the size, you should control that the inner perimeter turned out to be 1-1.5 cm larger than the mirror itself.
Sides equal to 30 and 75-80 centimeters are considered standard indicators of the frame. In this case, the width of the board does not exceed 9-10 millimeters, and its thickness ranges from 18 to 20 millimeters. A mirror with sides of 55 and 65 centimeters will ideally fit inside such a frame.
Having assembled a rectangle from individual boards, they can be fixed to each other simple furniture glue. During this process, you need to ensure that the glue does not leave streaks.
The use of staples in this case is discouraged. If ugly cracks and seams appear on the structure, then they can be treated with a moisture-resistant putty.
If necessary, additional individual parts can be fastened together with reliable metal corners.
Preparing lamp holes
When the glue is dry, you can move on to creating holes for the light bulbs. As a rule, it is installed from 8 rounds or more. Two bulbs must be in the upper corners, and the rest must be mounted at regular intervals.
Chuck holes E27 easiest to do with a pen drill, whose diameter is from 38 to 40 millimeters, and for E14 a diameter of 26 millimeters is more suitable.
To make the hole neat, it is better to drill from both sides: wait for the tip of the pen to appear on one side, and then immediately turn the board over.
The finished holes are sanded with sandpaper. Before painting the frame be sure to wipe off dirt and dust.
Frame decoration
The easiest way to decorate the frame is by ordinary painting. It is better to act according to the instructions, adhering to the conditions specified by the manufacturer. It is there that you can read how long does it take to dry the layers, whether it will be possible to apply the substance with a brush or only with a rag. It should be mentioned that painting the mirror frame should be done on both sides.
The furnishing element can be treated with a spray paint, or first covered with a stain, and then varnished.
Appearing during work the pile should be removed with sandpaper, but only fine-grained, and then again varnish the surface.
An equally successful solution is the use of acrylic color in combination with oil on wood, applied in two layers.
Installation of cartridges
Even when buying, it is important to track so that the cartridges are not ordinary, but with a locking ring, for example, E27 or E14. Each element is disassembled into components by unscrewing the fastening washer and the bottom, after which the end of the wire is inserted through the hole.
Experts recommend giving preference to a two-core sample with a cross section of 2 * 0.75 mm2.
Having removed some of the insulation, it is necessary fix the cores inside the cartridge using special contacts with screws. In the next step, the cartridge can be reassembled and inserted into the frame.
Network connection
In order for the dressing room mirror to work successfully from the network, it is important to ensure the parallel connection of individual bulbs... After that, it is recommended to hide the dangling wires in a special cable channel made of plastic and fixed on the rear surface of the frame.
The plug must be located at the very end of the cord, making sure that a switch is mounted between it and the first lamp.
Only one phase conductor will have to be passed through it. By the way, it will be much easier to initially purchase cord with built-in switch on the cord.
Professional advice
In addition to making the frame itself, an equally important point is its fastening to the table. Most often for this purpose self-tapping screws are used, supplemented with plastic washers. It is the plastic that will prevent the mirror from cracking, but it will provide the required fixation. Itself the reflective plate is most often glued onto transparent glue, designed specifically for this purpose.
On the table, the finished frame can be fixed on the furniture corners, screwed into the frame on one side, and on the other into the lower surface of the table.
Better to use 2 to 4 fasteners. Basically, such a mirror can even be hung on the wall.
A number of useful tips regarding the use of a makeup mirror can be obtained from specialists. For example, keep children away from him, since electricity is connected to the structure.
It is a good idea to place the display surface above the makeup cabinet, to immediately provide yourself with a place to store it, as well as at a comfortable distance from a seated person. By the way, LED bulbs must be taken with fuses for maximum long-term operation.
If necessary, they can be supplemented with a brightness control device.
In no case should you take luminescent models, as they distort perception, which means they can damage the main process - applying makeup. It will seem perfect next to the table, but in daylight it will lose its quality. Warm shades of the lamps will be more pleasing to the eyes, but cold ones will highlight all skin imperfections, and they can be masked.
In general, the number of bulbs may differ depending on the dimensions of the frame, but two of them must be mounted at eye level for more comfortable operation. It should be added that similar lighting can be arranged on a wardrobe.
For information on how to make a make-up mirror with your own hands, see the video.