For this build, the client wanted a custom walnut mirror frame built that would look like it is floating off the wall. To accomplish this, I made an inset inner frame on the back to make it stand out.
I recently built this really cool mirror frame for a Colorado client who wanted it to look like it was floating off the wall. Now, I’ll be honest—the shadows in my photos kind of hide that floating effect, so you’ll have to use your imagination a bit here. But trust me, it looks amazing in person.
Starting With Perfect Stock
Here’s the thing about miters: if you want them to be perfect, you need to start with perfectly square stock. It’s non-negotiable. So I took the extra time to set up a feather board when I was ripping everything to width. It’s one of those steps that seems tedious in the moment but saves you so much headache later.
Cutting the Miters
I mitered one end of all four pieces first, then set up a stop block so I could cut the corresponding sides to the exact same length. The stop block is key here—it keeps the pieces from getting pinched between the fence and the blade, which is both dangerous and annoying.
Creating the Dado for the Mirror
I needed to cut a pretty deep dado to accept the mirror and the supporting back panel. Instead of trying to hog out all that wood with a stacked dado set (which honestly sounds terrible), I did a two-pass cut on the table saw. The first cut established the width of the dado, then I reset both the fence and blade height to cut the depth. Way easier.
Reinforcing the Corners
When I lifted this mirror, I actually grunted. It was that heavy. So I knew I needed to reinforce the corners, and I decided to go with floating tenons. I clamped the pieces together to add a little stability while I cut the mortises—it just makes the whole process smoother.
The Clamping Strategy
Can we talk about band clamps for a second? They’re basically useless. There, I said it. Instead, I attached some temporary clamping blocks with CA glue. These blocks gave me something substantial to clamp to, and here’s the bonus: they don’t hide the miter on the outside corner like a band clamp does. That means I could actually see that the corners were tight on all the visible edges.
I added some paper under the glue joints to protect my assembly table (it’s looking pretty pristine, if I do say so myself), then checked the diagonals to make sure everything was square.
Building the Back Components
Once the glue dried, I broke off those glue blocks and got to work cutting the back panel to size. Then I squared up some alder for the back inner frame, marked the pieces to length, and cut them.
I added pocket hole screws so I could secure the inner frame to the outer frame later. This is what really gives the whole piece rigidity and strength—crucial when you’re dealing with a mirror this large and heavy.
Assembly Time
For the inner frame, I kept it simple with just glue and brad nails. Then I dropped in the mirror and painted all the back components black so they would disappear into the shadows. That’s a little trick that really sells the floating illusion.
Next, I dropped in the back panel, and finally, I dropped in the back inner frame and secured it with those pocket hole screws. You can see here that the inner frame is inset—this is what creates that floating-off-the-wall effect.
Hanging It Up
The whole thing hangs from the wall by the inner frame on a French cleat. It’s secure, it’s clean, and it makes installation so much easier.
And that’s it! A floating mirror frame that looks way more complicated than it actually is. If you try this build, I’d love to see how it turns out.
I’m the owner of Benham Design Concepts, a mixed media art studio where I design and build custom furniture and other works of art using wood, glass, stone, and various metals.
In this blog, I talk about the art I create, my journey, and the things I learn along the way.