Building My Smart Mirror

How I built my smart mirror

This post covers how I physically built my smart mirror. Some of the main highlights of this process were building the frame, staining the frame, securing the two-way mirror, and installing the monitor.

My Choice of Wood

I chose to use maple and pine to build my mirror.

Maple
I found maple to have a beautiful grain, and after some research I decided that it was perfect for the mirror. It is robust, takes stain nicely, and is well suited for indoor furniture.

Pine
I thought pine would be a great choice for the back frame of the mirror because of its practicality. It is light-weight, cheap, and being a softwood it is easy to work with.

All the wood I purchased for the mirror.

Working the Wood

To work the wood, I used a mitre saw which enabled me to cut concise 45 and 90 degree angles with ease. You can see my setup below along with the tape measure, protractor, and other tools that I used to measure line up the cuts.

The mitre saw I used to cut the wood (left). My setup for cutting the wood (right).

I had a minor issue cutting the 45 degree angles for the maple because the saw would chop a depth of 6", but the 45 degree cuts on the maple required an 8.5" cut. I solved this by simply performing a 45 degree cut on each side of the maple to create a full 45 degree cut. There were some imperfections in the angles, but I was able to sand them down using 80 grit sandpaper — after which they were perfect.

Building the Frames

Once the boards were cut to the correct lengths, it was time to put them together and build the frames of the mirror.

To clarify what I mean by frames (plural) of the mirror,

Front Frame
The main frame of the mirror. It is the frame you would see surrounding the mirror when you look at yourself in the mirror.

Back Frame
Surrounds the mirror and internal hardware. It is attached to the front frame and assists in keeping the mirror secure.

Inner Frame
Rests on top of the mirror to keep the mirror in place. It is attached to the back frame.

The blueprints below clearly label all three of the frames.

Some blueprints of the mirror, which clearly label the frames.

Building the Front Frame

I applied carpenter glue between the 45 degree cuts and clamped them for twenty-four hours. This created a secure bond at each corner of the frame. The next day, once the carpenter glue had dried, I applied sandable and stainable wood filler on top of and in between the 45 degree angle crevices. I then let the wood filler dry for about thirty minutes.

I used a palm sander to smooth down the excess wood filler and provide a clean looking 45 degree edge on all four corners of the frame. I proceeded to sand the entirety of the maple frame with 120 grit sandpaper to remove visible imperfections and prepare the frame to take stain.

The dried wood filler (left). Sanding the excess wood filler and frame (right).

Preparing to Stain the Front Frame

I drew a 1.5" border with a crayon to outline where the mirror was going to rest on the back of the front frame. The area within the crayon outline would not be visible during the final product of the mirror — it will be hidden behind the mirror.

I lightly hammered some nails into the frame within the crayon line so that the mirror would be able to rest on the pins, thus allowing me to simultaneously stain both sides of the mirror. Fortunately, the mirror easily balanced on the eight pins, and it was now ready for staining!

A picture of the frame up until this point (left). One of the nails I used to support the mirror for staining (right).

Staining the Front Frame

I used Varathane “KONA” Premium Wood Stain for the mirror, which I purchased from my local RONA. I applied the stain by brushing with the grain using a high grade paint brush, then immediately removing excess stain with a cheesecloth. I highly recommend wearing gloves to anyone who applies a stain as such, because it gets everywhere.

In the below photos, note that the frame is resting on the nails that were hammered into the back of it during the previous step!

Applying the stain (left and middle). The stain after applying (right).

After letting the stain dry for twenty-four hours, the stain was complete. I’m really happy with how it turned out — the colour is exactly what I wanted and the grain popped nicely!

Building the Back Frame

I decided to do 90 degree angles on the corners for the back frame. These corners would be tightly bonded with carpenter glue and nails. I did some dry-fitting beforehand to make sure that the corners lined up properly.

To create the bond at each corner, I applied a dab of glue between the joint, and quickly hammered two 3" nails through one plank and into the other for additional joint strength.

Applying carpenters glue between the joint (left). Hammering nails into the joint (right).

Securing the Back Frame to the Front Frame

After all the joints on the back frame had time to bond, the back frame was ready to be secured to the front frame.

I drilled holes vertically through the back frame in even increments, making way for 3.5" deep screws to be applied through the back frame and down into the front frame.

Drilling holes into the back frame.

I placed the mirror on the back of the front frame, lining its edges up with the crayon border I had drawn out that you saw earlier. This was a 1/4" thick, 24" x 64" two-way mirror which I custom ordered from a local glass manufacturing company.

I applied a line of glue around the entire peripheral of the mirror, which would supply additional bond strength when the back frame was placed on it. Then I placed the back frame over the glue and screwed the 3.5" screws down, through the top of back frame and into the front frame. With both the screws and glue securing the back frame to the front frame, this mirror was now super sturdy!

A line of glue applied around the peripheral of the mirror (left). The back frame successfully secured to the front frame (right).

Building the Back Frame

I applied brown caulking around the edges of the mirror, to tightly secure it in place.

Caulking applied around edges of the mirror.

While the caulking was still wet, I placed each board of the back frame down into its respective place. I proceeded to secure the back frame and the inner frame together by screwing a corner brace into each corner.

A corner brace joint (left). All the frames are built and the mirror is secured in place. (right)

Applying the Blackout

I purchased window blackout as opposed to other light-blocking materials because it is thin, lightweight, and easy to work with.

“What is the purpose of the blackout?”
Two-way mirrors have a reflective side and a transparent side. Light that travels through the transparent side will be visible from the reflective side. However, portions of the mirror that have no light coming through from the transparent side will be completely reflective on the reflective side. Since the blackout blocks virtually all light, it can be applied to parts of the transparent side of the two-way mirror that I want to be reflective on the other side!

The blackout, rolled out over a table.

I cut out two rectangular sheets of blackout from the main sheet and applied them to the area of the mirror surrounding the monitor. One sheet covered the area below the monitor, and the other sheet covered the remaining area beside the monitor.

The blackout was easily secured by stapling it into the pine — an advantage of using softwood for the inner frame!

The blackout stapled into the pine (left). The blackout applied around the display (right).

Installing the Monitor

I applied black electrical tape around the monitor’s display before placing it on the mirror. The black electrical tape is seamless with the blackout, and prevented scratching from occurring to the mirror while I slid the monitor into place.

Once the monitor was in position to show through the other side of the mirror where I wanted it to, I used two additional boards of pine and four T-brackets to secure the peripherals of the monitor.

The sides of the monitor were secured in place.

I screwed additional pieces of wood into the top of these newly placed boards, and made creative use of some metal brackets to secure the monitor face down — keeping the monitor flush with the two-way mirror.

Additional brackets keeping the monitor flush with the two-way mirror.

The Raspberry Pi

Now that the main structure of the mirror was complete, it was time to shift my focus to other components of the mirror such as the Raspberry Pi.

Handling Heat

I attached aluminum heat sinks to the Raspberry Pi. This will help disperse the heat from the processing units of the Pi and keep it cool.

The Raspberry Pi before (left) and after (right) heat sinks were added to it.

After attaching the heat sinks to the Raspberry Pi, I put it in a Raspberry Pi case to allow air flow underneath and on top of the Pi. The case that I used specifically has a cooling fan which is powered via the Pi’s GPIO pins. The fan is unbelievably quiet — I can’t really hear it unless my face is right up to it.

The Raspberry Pi in the case.

Creating a Surface For the Raspberry Pi

The current state of the mirror had no surface large enough to sustain the Raspberry Pi. Hence, I had to make one. I screwed the case of the Pi into a 6"x 6" piece of Oak that was left over from the front frame. This piece of wood will now work as a surface for the Pi in the mirror.

The Raspberry Pi secured to a 6" x 6" piece of Oak.

Mounting the Raspberry Pi

Now that the Raspberry Pi was on a surface which it could comfortably fit on, it was time to attach it to the mirror. I attached the piece of oak that the Pi was mounted on by using two brackets and some 1/2" screws.

Mounting Additional Components

Now that the main functionality of the mirror was essentially complete, I mounted two additional components for quality of life purposes.

Mounting the Power Bar

To mount the power bar, I drilled holes into a piece of pine wood and then threaded zip ties through these holes. I wrapped the zip ties around the power bar and then pulled them closed. I then screwed this piece of wood into the frame, which resulted in a fully secured power bar which allows multiple outlets for each the monitor and Raspberry Pi. Oh — and the added bonus of surge protection!

The power bar secured to a piece of wood using zip ties (left). The power bar attached to the mirror (right).

Mounting the IR Receiver

I cut the IR receiver off of the monitor bezel using a saw, and then screwed it into a piece of the wood currently being used to secure the monitor. Now, with the IR receiver plugged into the monitor, the monitor brightness and other configurations can be changed via the monitor remote control.

The IR receiver mounted to a piece of wood on the back of the mirror.

Finishing Touches

Some finishing touches I made to the mirror were staining the back frame and applying varnish to the mirror. The stain was applied for aesthetic reasons, whereas the varnish was applied to provide a protective layer for the wood — shielding it from potential damages.

The back of the finished mirror.

Thanks For Reading!

Thanks for taking interest in my project! Check out the main post for this project, encapsulating the entire process of making the mirror: How I Made a Smart Mirror that Integrates with Google Drive

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at mitchelltmarino@gmail.com.