Mirror, mirror! Finally, on the wall

Well, I seem to have left my readers hanging (pun intended) at the end of my last post about the mirror that wasn't - hanging, that is.

Shortly after I finished writing that blog, BFF was able to paint the wall and the following week had time to hang it.

Here's the wall before she finished painting it.

And here, finally, is my pretty new framed mirror.

What I couldn't tell when I ordered it online is that the frame is actually brushed, beveled glass. It really goes well with the brushed nickel fixture above it and adds a touch of class far beyond the plain builder's mirror.

Before buying this mirror, I toyed with several framing options for the bathroom mirror.

• DIY a mirror frame using the existing builder's mirror by following some "how to" YouTube videos. It involved painted or stained moldings with or without mitering, and with or without embellishments such as an elaborate crown molding and fluted moldings on either side. The process gets tricky when you have to replace the clips that hold the mirror on the wall with metal washers and glue the frame over the outer edges of the mirror using liquid nails. I had visions of it ending badly, but it is an inexpensive DIY solution for someone handier (and taller) than I am. BFF was not on board for this one.
• Buy a ready-made frame kit for this exact purpose. Several companies make them, such as Mirror Mate and Frame My Mirror. They look very nice online, and their websites give you detailed information on how to measure for them and install them properly. I was sorely tempted, but the cost was more than I was prepared to spend, especially when I had the $50 gift card from Wayfair burning a hole in my pocket. If I'm flush by the time I get to my master bathroom vanity mirror, there's one I've got my eye on, but it costs close to $200, and readers know how budget-minded I am. I've been combing the furniture consignment shops and thrift stores every so often to see if I can find a frame or a framed mirror I like for less, even if I have to paint, stain, or mosaic the frame myself.

This bathroom is actually the second vanity that opens onto a bath and toilet (the infamous too tall toilet I'll be changing out once I decide on flooring) shared with my master bedroom vanity. Though I don't use this vanity myself, overnight guests do, and it can be seen from the upstairs hallway. I had planned to hang a painting of a Venetian canal I bought at HomeGoods over a year ago in the hall, just adjacent to the vanity entry door. It's taken all this time to get around to painting the hall, too, and since I had not yet put the painting up, BFF and I decided it would add some color to the neutral palette in the vanity.

So here it is on the wall next to the mirror. Who knew when I bought it that it would pair so nicely with a mirror I hadn't even thought about buying yet?