In modern home design, LED lights is an important part playing the role as illumination and ambience maker. LED light in mirror can offer bright illumination, showing the details of people or things. The LED for mirror improves the practicality and aesthetic of the space. There are many LED mirror lights in the market. You can select one according to your needs. However, if you want to experience the fun of DIY LED lights for mirror, this blog is a suitable guide to help you DIY your own mirror with LED lighting.
How to choose the LED strip to DIY LED mirror?
Choose the appropriate LED tape strip is important for you to successfully DIY your own LED mirror lighting. There are several factors you can take into consideration when you select the LED strips,
The location and illumination purpose
Mirrors serve different purposes in different spaces and correspond to different lighting needs.
Entryway: Entryway mirrors are mainly used for people to check their outfits and makeup before they going out, requiring the bright illumination. Therefore, the lights around mirror should be bright to ensure the detail are visible and avoid shadow areas of the mirror. Equipping the LED lighting for mirrors can help people to see the outfits more clearly.
Bedroom: The bedroom mirrors are applied to make up, including bedroom dresser mirror and full body vanity mirror, which requires bright lighting and high color rendering. LED lights for mirror with high color rendering index (CRI) can present the real state of skin and make up, ensuring that your makeup looks natural.
Bathroom: Bathroom mirror with lights provides a clear view of facial details during delicate activities such as removing makeup, skincare or shaving. These bathroom mirror lights play the role as a complementary light for the bathroom ceiling light. Due to the humid environment, selecting the LED light fixtures with a waterproof rating is useful to prevent short circuits caused by moisture. Choosing the LED light fixture with anti-glare design is a good way to avoid discomfort when people stay long time in front of the LED bathroom mirrors.
The consider factors
Considering the lighting space and lighting purpose, we have to concentrate on the following points when choosing the LED strips:
Cutability: Mirrors tend to be round, rectangular or square, so we need to choose the flexible and cuttable LED strip lighting. The cuttable LED strip is designed with welding spots to guide people to cut the LED strips. If you have any question for cutting LED strips, you can read our blog Can You Cut LED Light Strips.
Color: LED lighting strips are available in a variety of color temperatures, from cool white to warm white and RGB color LED strip. We are applied white light in house to provide clear light. The white light vanity mirror provides a bright illumination, supporting user to look their facial details.
Color Rendering: CRI(color rendering index) is a factor to evaluate the color reproduction ability of light sources. The Higher color rendering lights enables of reproducing the color and the skin state. Therefore, selecting a high CRI LED light strips for mirror is important when you decide to DIY mirror LED.
Color Temperature: Different color temperatures influence the presentation of skin in the mirror. Therefore, when choosing LED lights for bathroom mirror and bedroom vanity mirror, we recommend to select the color temperature that is close to natural lights. Natural LED lights for mirror have better performance for representing the state of skin.
Waterproof rating: The waterproof rating refers the waterproof performance. The higher the waterproof rating, the wider the applicability. In places such as bathrooms, we need to use waterproof LED strip lights to avoid the risk of short circuits and electric shocks.
Matching equipment: When using LED tape strip lighting, we require the matched drivers or power adapters to protect the LED strips.
Bathroom mirrors with LED lights
The modern bathroom mirrors are important in the bathroom for us to observe our face. However, if the LED bathroom lights aren’t bright, it’s hard for us to look clearly of the image in the mirror. Therefore, we can DIY mirror with LED lights for bathroom to boost lighting, helping us to see the facial details more clearly. Here is a simple guide for mirror LED strip DIY.
How to DIY LED mirror for bathroom?
Step 1: The preparation
Work before DIYBefore making the mirror with LED lighting in bathroom, we need to prepare the LED strip lighting and required tool. The bathroom is so humid that we need to choose the waterproof LED light strips. We also need to prepare tools such as connectors, scissor, tape measure and markers. Before starting the DIY mirror LED, we must make sure that the power connected to the bathroom is turned off for safety.
Step 2: Measure the mirror
Decorative bathroom mirrors have many kinds of shapes, including rectangular, square, round or even irregular shapes. Before we DIY LED light strip on the mirror, we need to measure the size of the mirror in the bathroom, thereby determining the length of strip LED lighting. for the round or irregular shape mirror, we recommend to leave some extra length to accommodate curved or irregular edges.
Step 3：Cutting the LED tape strip lights
Once we have determined the desired length of the LED lights strip, we can begin cutting the LED strips. Cuttable LED strips are usually designed with solder joints, this is to ensure that you can safely cut along the solder joints. If you have any questions during the cutting process, check out our other guide – Can You Cut LED Light Strips. After the strip cutting is complete, we use connectors to join the cutting LED strips to avoid crushing or damaging the strip in the corners of the mirror.
Step 4：Clean the surface of the Mirror
Cleaning the surface of the wall mirror for bathroom is an essential step before we attach the LED strips. if there has dust and oil on the mirror surface, the LED strips are unable to fixed firmly on the wall bathroom mirror. We recommend using isopropyl alcohol to clean the whole mirror. After the mirror surface is totally dry, we start to stick the LED strips to make the bathroom LED mirror.
Step 5：Attach the LED strips to the mirror
First, we need to test all the LED strips lights, ensuring they work normally. Make sure all the fixtures light up properly and work stably before we start to DIY LED light mirror. According to different types of wall mirror for bathroom, we provide the following installation methods for your reference.
For frameless bathroom mirrors, sticking the LED tape light on the back of a mirror is a good choice, especially if there is a space between the mirror and the wall. This design is conducive to the dispersion of the LED lighting strips, thus providing a more even lighting effect. How to add LED lights to back of mirror? We gently flip the mirror over and use a marker to carefully mark a spot about an inch from the edge of the mirror backing. Next, we tear off the protective sticker of the LED light bar, then stick it to the marked position and press it firmly.
If there is no gap between the wall and the mirror without frame, you may want to consider using mirror trim to DIY bathroom mirror frame. Mirror trim not only protects your mirror, but also creates a beautifully visual effect. Then we stick the light strips along the mirror frames to create a double frame effect.
For framed bathroom mirrors, if the width and flatness of the frame is sufficient to carry the light strips, we can attach the light strips directly to the mirrors frame. The steps are similar to pasting frameless mirror bathroom: we use the connector to connect the cutting LED light strips and slowly stick them on the mirror’s frame.
Step 6：Connect the power supply
LED strip light usually needs DC power supply. Therefore, we need to use a power adapter or driver to connect the LED tube light. For ease of operation, we recommend using a socket with an on/off button to realize the turn on/off of the LED lighting strips. After completing connection, we plug the driver or power adapter into the wall socket. Then we turn on the mains power and check if the LED rope lighting operates normally to ensure a correct and safe installation.
Dimming intelligent control
If you want to connect your DIY mirror with LED strip to smart control system, here are some operation steps and suggestions. We recommend Zigbee compatible devices because they can access multiple smart home platforms and APPs.
Choose the appropriate Zigbee device: In order to connect LED strips to the smart control system, the use of Zigbee gateway and Zigbee dimmable LED driver is the key. In addition, you can also consider using an integrated solution of Zigbee gateway, Zigbee LED strip controller, and driver for more advanced smart control. When selecting Zigbee dimming driver and Zigbee LED controller, please check the voltage and current requirements of the LED strip. And we select the drivers and controllers that match these parameters.
Add the gateway to your home network: Here we take Tuya APP as an example. If you have further interest, you can read this blog “How to Connect LED Strip Lights To Tuya SmartLife?” First we Launch Tuya APP and click “Add Device” option. Then we follow the APP’s guide to complete the adding process until the gateway successfully connects to your home network. The selected Zigbee gateway should support Tuya APP control.
Add sub-device: Following the guide of Tuya app, we add the sub-device, the Zigbee driver or Zigbee controller, into the Tuya app.
Power the LED strip: Before any wiring operation, please turn off the power to ensure safe operation. Then, according to the wiring diagram of the driver, connect the LED tape lights and Zigbee driver correctly. We should check all connections are firm and correct. After completing the above steps, we can use Tuya APP to control the LED bar lights intelligently.
Vanity mirror with LED lights
Makeup mirrors are generally used for ladies to apply and view their makeup. Adding LED lights to the makeup mirror is suitable for dim light conditions and provides convenience for people.
Does it make any difference when doing makeup with a mirror with lights?
Yes. There is a real difference between vanity mirror with LED lights and regular makeup mirrors in terms of presenting makeup. Vanity mirrors with LED lights can provide even and sufficient light, which can help users see the details of makeup more accurately. Ordinary makeup mirrors do not provide sufficient light in low-light environments. Vanity mirror with LED light usually have a high color rendering index (CRI), which means they are able to reproduce colors more realistically and show the original color of the skin. Some lighted vanity mirrors support adjustable color temperature, which can simulate natural light or warm light effects, further enhancing the naturalness and accuracy of makeup application. And in case of insufficient natural light, lighted vanity mirror can supplement the light to ensure the accuracy of the makeup process.
What type of light is best for a vanity mirror?
Using LED lights to supplement the light is ideal for makeup vanity mirror. Many vanity mirrors on the market come with built-in LED light sources that offer adjustable color temperatures to suit different lighting needs. Besides, Hollywood vanity mirror with LED lights is also popular. The Hollywood vanity mirror has light bulbs evenly spaced around the mirror to create a large light source. The LED lights of small vanity mirror illuminate the face from multiple angles, providing even and bright detail lighting to enhance makeup application.
For dresser vanity mirror without light source, we can use LED strips or LED module bulbs to DIY LED mirror lighting, providing supplemental light to the vanity mirror. The method of using LED light strips to DIY LED mirror we have already mentioned above. Here we introduce how to DIY lighted vanity mirror with LED light module.
Step 1: Choose the LED module lights
Modular lighting is the lighting fixture that combines multiple LED lights for flexibility and ease of use. We recommend choosing the bulb light module with a color temperature of 3500k-5000k and a high CRI value. This color temperature range is close to natural light, enabling to reflect the color and detail effects more realistically. Secondly, the number of our bulbs should be controlled at about 10 to evenly line up on the vanity mirror. This arrangement provides fill light for the vanity mirror dresser and eliminate shadows and dark areas.
Step 2: Determine the paste position
The bulbs should be affixed to the top and sides of the modern vanity mirror to create an even area of light that helps to show the details of the makeup clearly. Before pasting, we can mark the paste position of the vanity set mirror. Sticking modular LED lights at the edge of the mirror is a useful way to avoid too much light affecting the makeup effect.
Step 3: Paste the modular LED light
Now we stick the double-sided 3m adhesive to the base of the modular lights. And we remove the backing and stick it to the marked position. Next, let’s straighten out the wires and tuck them behind the mirror to ensure a clean appearance of the mirror.
Step 4: Connect the modular lighting to the power supply
According to the wiring diagram, let’s connect the power adapter with the LED light modules. After plugging in the power supply, we observe whether the bulb lights up normally without flicker and odor. If you pursue the convenience, you can also choose the battery operated LED strip lights or USB LED light modular bulb, which can use a mobile power supply for the bulb power supply. 5V USB LED light strip is also a good choice to DIY a travel makeup mirror, providing uniform brightness and portable reliability.
These are the steps on how to DIY makeup mirror with lights. After completing the above steps, we got a self-made LED light vanity mirror.
The special mirror light— infinity mirror
What is an infinity mirror? Infinity Mirror, also known as Thousand Layer Mirror, is a unique decorative piece that creates a tunnel-like layered progressive luminous effect when its lights are on, bringing a unique visual experience to your space. How does an infinity mirror work? Infinity LED mirror is actually a combination of various mirrors and lights, including reflector mirrors, translucent mirrors, and light bar LED. When the strip is electrified, the light creates a ghost image of the light source behind the single lens. Since the infinity mirror uses a single lens, which can reflect away most of the light while allowing a small portion of the light to be refracted. The refracted light will keep repeating the reflection cycle between the single lens and the normal mirror, thus creating the effect of infinite extension.
If you are eager to explore distinctive lighting effects, infinity mirror DIY is definitely a creative option. Simple infinity mirror light is relatively easy to make, you just need to prepare an ordinary mirror, a single lens, LED light strip, strong glue and a frame that matches the size of the mirror.
Fix the mirror: First we place the mirror inside the frame and use the glue to stick the edges to the frame to make sure it won’t move.
Install the LED strip: We can choose RGB LED strip lights. After tearing off the protective sticker backing from the RGB color LED strip, we paste the RGB LED strips to the inner edges of the frame on all four sides. We should reserve a hole on the frame which is used for connecting the power supply.
Install the single lens: When we paste the single lens onto the frame, we make sure that the mirror covers the entire surface of the frame. It is worth noting that the single lens is aligned with the frame.
Connect the power supply: finally, we connect the power supply of the LED rope light strip from the reserved hole. Please turn on the power and then check whether the lighting effect meets our expectation.
With the above steps, you can create a simple and interesting infinity effect mirror. If you are looking for further effects, you can replace the LED strip light with neon LED strip to design some glowing fonts or interesting patterns. The light effect created by neon LED strip lights will be deeper and more three-dimensional, adding a unique charm to your mirror LED infinity.