I was so excited when Moen contacted me to review one of their products- Mirrorscapes. I’ve always thought it would be nice if someone came up with an idea that would take a builders grade mirror and turn it fabulous without calling in a contractor! Well, Moen did it…..the above picture is my daughter’s bathroom before mirrorscapes ….{this is her review}

This is  after installing the Moen Mirrorscapes-

For our 72×36 mirror, the Mirrorscapes parts came in 3 packages. One box contained two 8-foot long wood pieces, one box contained two 4-foot wood pieces, and one box held the corners and mounting hardware.  I opened everything up and laid out the directions.  The directions are in a picture format, with very little text.  They are mostly easy to follow, but I found it was important to thoroughly study all the steps before beginning the project.  Most all of the hardware is found inside the box with the corner pieces.  But I did have to do a little digging to find some of the parts, which were sandwiched between the wood frames.

Overall, the installation was pretty straight-forward. The only extra tools you are going to need is a measuring tape, sharpie marker, saw {hand or circular} to trim the wood to your measurements, and glass cleaner to remove all dirt and smudges from your mirror before installation.  You begin by using the included templates to adhere the self-adhesive mounting brackets to the mirror.  The templates were wonderful and really made placing the brackets so easy.  I would recommend having someone help you {especially for the corners}- one person to hold the template still, while the other person carefully sets the bracket in place.  The adhesive is very strong. You only get on chance at getting the placement just right.

Then you pop in the corner pieces and mark their placement with a sharpie.

A fine-tipped sharpie works best.  Pop the corners back out and take measurements for the straight wood pieces.  the way the system is designed, you have about 1/8- 1/4 inch of “forgiveness.”  The corner pieces will cover up some cutting mistakes, but you still want to be as accurate as possible.  Then you simply follow the directions to mount your frame pieces, one by one, in a puzzle-like formation.

The wood pieces have a large groove on the back that runs across the entire length.  This is where the mounting brackets “pop” in.  But it takes quite a bit of force and push and pounding to get the pieces in.  At first I was worried that I might crack the wood or worse, my mirror.  But everything held up just fine.  My husband and I just came away from the project with sore palms and I did something to tweak one of the knuckles on my finger.  I’m not sure that you could use a rubber mallet either- it might damage the finish or the wood.   Just be prepared to push Hard.

Overall I am very Happy and pleased with the results.  We finished the project in under an hour.  If this was something that we had tried to make ourselves {cutting, measuring, painting, mounting with glue or nails}, it would have taken much, much, much longer. Days. Like I mentioned, the frame pieces are made from wood.  They are sturdy and substantial in size {1inch thick}.  I feel like Mirrorscapes has taken my bathroom from looking “builders- grade” to custom- crafted.

Check out Moen mirrorscapes…..you will be glad you did.