Create your own DIY Hollywood Style Mirror

I’ve wanted a Hollywood style illuminated mirror since, well, forever. They remind me of old Hollywood glamour, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth. The idea to make my own came about due to a university project, where I had to use the theme of illumination.

Update: As of July 2016, this blog post has been updated to include up-to-date product links so you can shop with much more ease!

To buy them readily made costs a stupid amount of money, we’re talking about £200+, so I decided to make my own using lights and a mirror from IKEA. A kind of IKEA hack, if you will, except it’s all readily available to buy on their site and assemble yourself.

If I was to say this was a super cheap project, I’d be lying, as the LED lightbulbs cost around £40 and the rest is £56, so it comes in at just under £100. That being said, the lightbulbs used are £4 each from IKEA, so if you can get these any cheaper elsewhere then that will definitely bring the total cost down.

The lights come without plugs, as they are intended to be hardwired into your wall, so my first challenge was to get them to work. If you have a friend or relative that knows a bit about wiring things, enlist their help. Or even better, a qualified electrician! Safety first.

Other than that, this is a great little project and looks amazing in your room on a dressing table. It’s super bright so absolutely perfect for applying makeup, especially in the winter when light is so limited. I’m hoping when I move into a different place, I can get it wall-mounted rather than its current ‘leaning on wall’ position.

Shopping List

If you want to give this a try, the mirror is the Kolja mirror (£12), lights are the Musik wall lamp (£22 per lamp) and the bulbs are the Ledare LED bulbs (£4 each).

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