We took a builder grade mirror and gave it a super quick and affordable DIY update that fits perfectly in our home gym!
When we made over our home gym, one element that is a necessity is a mirror.
But when I went to price a new mirror - I instantly had major sticker shock.
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If you've ever been to commercial gyms or a fitness center, it's guaranteed that you would find wall to wall mirrors.
While I didn't want an entire mirrored wall in our gym, we did want a large-scale mirror, about 3 foot x 5 foot.
That way we could see our whole body while checking for proper form.
So I went to find a mirror for our small home gym, I was shocked at the prices.
First off, full length mirrors are an inexpensive item, but were too small and wouldn't work for our home gym design.
I loved the look of the black framed mirror like this one from Wayfair.
But I wasn't about to pay $300-$400!
I found another one that was cheaper at Bed Bath and Beyond, but anything over $100 was too much.
I checked out Home Depot and they had the most affordable option, but I knew I could get one even cheaper.
So I searched Facebook Marketplace and found this one!
It was a big mirror that was used in someone's bathroom.
And they were selling it for $35 - which I was able to talk them down to a fair price of $25.
But it didn't have that cool black edging that I had hoped for.
So here's how we fixed that!
Table of Contents
DIY Home Gym Mirror
Of all the DIY projects we've tackled, this one may be the easiest of all.
These are the supplies you'll need for this project.
- Wall Mirror - check your marketplace or thrift store for a deal
- Mirror mounting materials - we used this J channel and these clips
- Stud Finder - this is one of my favorites
- Electrical Tape - ours is 3/4" thick
Yup, you read that right.
Good ol' fashioned electrical tape.
Instructions
The first thing you want to do is to hang your mirror on the wall.
Large wall mirrors are heavy, so make sure you find the right hanging system for your mirror.
We used a J channel for the main support.
It's a metal channel that attaches to the wall that and a single large mirror sits in.
It's important to hang this into the wall studs, so you need to have a stud finder handy.
Since we were taking an unused bedroom for our home gym setup, I didn't want to use construction adhesive to attach the mirror to the wall.
So we opted to used these mirror clips to help hold the mirror in place.
Again, make sure you hang these in the studs!
Once our mirror was hung, Trent got some electrical tape and brought it to our exercise room.
I had seen this idea used on windows on House Beautiful before, and thought - why not try it for our mirror?
Most electrical tape is 3/4 inch wide, but can get it in different sizes.
We simply ran the tape along all four edges of the mirror to create this framed look.
This took just a few bucks and not a lot of time to create the exact aesthetic we were hoping for!
Substitutions to hang the mirror
There are some other options for hanging a mirror on the market that you might want to check out.
- Mirror Mastic - This is heavy duty construction adhesive that you apply to the back of the mirror and attach it to the wall. It will help hold heavy mirrors to the wall. We opted not to use this since we wanted this to be hung temporarily.
- Frame the mirror - You could find a way to frame out the mirror with wood to secure it, but that will definitely add to the weight of the mirror.
- Size of the mirror - Depending on your space, you can possibly explore smaller mirrors for your own home gym.
This is also a great idea to link out to another blogger with a similar recipe that fits a different diet.
Other Mirror Options
I have seen some creative ways to make custom wall mirrors out of creative items.
- Full-Length Mirrors - Simply pair 3 or 4 mirrors together to help create one large mirror.
- Mirror Tiles - You can create a wall of mirrors by combining these smaller square pieces together into one.
- Exercise Mirrors - Have you seen these cool workout mirrors? It's latest craze with fitness enthusiasts. It's basically a smart mirror with a built in screen that shows a video that you follow while working out. If money is not an issue, then you could purchase one for your home gym.
Click here to see our full
Small Home Gym Reveal!
I hope this inspires you to create your own DIY Home Gym Mirror for your workout room.
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