How to Put Lights Around Mirror?
The so-called “Vanity mirrors” are a great way to add some mood to a room or to spice up your bathroom. There’s just one problem – they can cost a bit much for many people’s tastes.
Here’s the good news, however – you can just put LED strips of lights around mirrors and turn them into vanity mirrors! Yes, there’s no need for some special type of lights to put on mirrors, a normal LED strip can work too.
So, do you want to know how to make a mirror with lights? Here’s a quick step-by-step guide:
Get the right lights.
LED light strips are fairly affordable but you should keep in mind that the lights you choose are waterproof if you want to place them in a humid bathroom. If you want them for a bedroom mirror, that’s not an issue.
Next, consider how long you need the strip to be – measure the periphery of the mirror you want to light up and get a light strip of the corresponding length.
Lastly, take a moment to decide whether you want white LED lights or something more colorful.
Front or back?
The next step is to figure out whether you want to add the lights to the front or the back of the mirror. When it comes to deciding how to add lights to a mirror, it’s important to figure how you’re going to position the mirror itself.
If the mirror is going to be attached closely to a wall, you won’t be able to put any lights on its back. Alternatively, if it’s a portable tabletop mirror that’s going to be away from any walls, there’s no point in adding lights behind it.
However, if you’re going to mount the mirror on a wall and leave an inch or two of a distance from the wall, putting light strips on the back periphery of the mirror can create the awesome effect of lighting the wall itself.
Instead, adding the lights on the front periphery of the wall gives it a classic and much more dazzling effect.
Attach the lights.
The third and last step of how to light a mirror is to just glue the LED light strip to the mirror. There are very few things to consider here:
- Clean the surface of the mirror. Whether you’re going to attach the lights to the front or the back of the mirror, make sure that the surface is spotlessly clean. Any dust and dirt will prevent the light’s adhesive from attaching them properly.
- Next, dry the surface with a paper towel. Make sure there’s no moisture left as that too can interfere with the glue.
- Lastly, just glue the lights strip down. Most LED light strips have their own 3M super glue at the back so you probably won’t need your own. If you do, however, make sure that it works for plastic and glass.
And that’s about it! Now you can just connect the lights to the controller, insert the power supply, and light up your new DIY vanity mirror.