A smart mirror is heavier and more delicate than a standard mirror. The monitor and electronics adds weight to the mirror which need to be secured to the wall.
The last thing you want after building your smart mirror is for it to come crashing down to the ground.
The way you mount your mirror to the wall depends on the size of the mirror, whether the mirror has a frame, and the type of wall you’re mounting it on.
In most cases, to mount a smart mirror on a wall, you’ll use hooks, brackets, or something called a French cleat.
Let’s go through a few examples so you can find the right solution for your smart mirror.
Mounting A Small Framed Smart Mirror
A small smart mirror is the easiest to mount as it won’t be very heavy or need much support. A framed smart mirror will have plenty of surface area to attach hooks or a small bracket.
After you build your smart mirror and are ready to hang it on the wall, weigh it. Hooks will have weight limits so you want to make sure the hooks you buy will easily support the weight of your smart mirror.
For example, if your mirror is really light, you might be able to use command strips (shown below). But the chances are your mirror will be heavier than the limit command strips can support.
Once you know the weight of your completed smart mirror, you can find a suitable set of hooks or hangers. Find a suitable stud in the wall and your smart mirror will be safe.
Mounting A Medium Sized Smart Mirror to a Wall
As the size of your smart mirror gets larger, it becomes riskier to use a simple hook system you might use for a standard photo frame. Securing a medium sized smart mirror to the wall depends on the location of studs in your wall.
The best case scenario is for there to be two vertical studs or one horizontal stud at the height you want to mount your mirror.
Once you find your studs, aim for at least two points where you can attach wall mounting brackets. It may be possible to safely mount your smart mirror using one bracket, but two brackets will disperse the weight and reduce any risks.
Mounting A Large Smart Mirror to a Wall
Once you get past a certain size, you don’t want to rely on hooks or small brackets. The large smart mirror I built for my bathroom is really heavy due to the large sheet of glass.
If it isn’t obvious from the above photo, the mirror is huge and weighs a ridiculous amount.
It was really important to me that whatever I used to mount it to the wall would last a lifetime.
One of the strongest ways to mount a large smart mirror to a wall is to use a French cleat. A French Cleat is often used for wall-mounted cabinets and mirrors, so it’s the perfect method for a smart mirror.
French Cleats use gravity to it’s advantage. The mirror sits on top of the wall-mounted bracket and the weight of the mirror secures it.
One advantage of a French Cleat is that the bracket can run almost the entire length of the mirror, giving you multiple points where you can bolt it into the wall.
In the diagram below, you can see that the angle of the cleat’s bracket causes the mirror’s support to press against the wall.
Throughout this website, you’ll see more examples of different smart mirrors and how they’re mounted to walls. You’ll see photos of the large frameless smart mirror I made and how I securely mounted it to my bathroom wall.
Here’s a close-up of the basic French Cleat I built to mount my large smart mirror to my wall:
Read through as much information on this site as you can before you finalize the plans for your smart mirror. You might come across ideas that change the way you build yours.