I’m so excited to tell you that I’ve finished 2 (yes–TWO) projects this week! One is the mirrored pocket door that leads from Madison’s bedroom to the Jack and Jill bathroom. I love pocket doors. They don’t take up floor space and they don’t ever smack an unsuspecting occupant standing on the opposite side of said door.
A mirrored pocket door is a double whammy, because you get a door AND a mirror in one!
Pocket Door Framing
I installed in the pocket door frame (about a year ago) when I was framing the Jack and Jill bathroom. (But I’m not judging myself.) I would have made every door a pocket door if I could have. It wasn’t possible because of pipes and lack of wall space.
Pocket door tracks have to be twice as long as the door. Half of the track has to be enclosed in the wall so the door can slide out of the way. So using pocket doors requires sufficient IN wall space. You can’t just use them willy nilly, wherever you want. (But I wish.)
This particular door is in the entrance from Madison’s bedroom. It enters right next to the double vanity. I didn’t want the possibility of her door swinging into the room and smacking someone that may be brushing their teeth, or putting on mascara. 
Mirrored Door
With these tracks, you can use any traditional door. You do have to frame the door opening for the height and width of the door you’re using. I could have used one of the doors I had removed from the old closets or bathroom. BUT I wanted a full length mirror in the bathroom and there’s no wall space for one. So I searched for a mirror door that I could use.
Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to find exactly what you want, when you’re looking for something specific? I finally found on one Lowe’s website. (Details at end of post)
The mirror panel is square and the other doors in this house have arch details. I spent a lot of time thinking about if it was going to bug me that the door details were different. These are the things I lay in bed thinking about while I try not to think about things so I can finally fall asleep at 2 am.
I decided I was pretty sure it wouldn’t bug me and that I’d probably really like it once it was trimmed out and cleaned up.
Sometimes you come to a point where you can’t tell how you’ll like the finished product. But you have to make your best guess and move forward, one way or another.
Trim, Planks and Paint
I moved forward and trimmed out the door.
And planked my walls and painted everything! Then the exciting moment of pulling off the plastic!
It was surprisingly difficult to pull that stuff off! But it sure did a good job of keeping the mirror protected while I sprayed it.
Recessed Door Pull
Lastly, I had to cut out a recess on both sides of the door for pulls. I drilled holes in the corners of area I need to remove thinking I’d use a palm router and clean out the rest. Drilling the small holes created more fine dust than I expected enlightening me to the fact that I was dealing with MDF.
So I went for a chisel instead of a router.
Chiseling leaves you with “chips” you can sweep up (as apposed to a blizzard of MDF dust the router would have created).
Plus, using the chisel was really satisfying. Therapeutic maybe. I need to use my hand tools more often. Slow down and smell the roses…
Then I installed the pulls and now we can open the door without touching the mirror. Boom, done!
Funny that this little detail is the thing that Madison most appreciates about all the projects I’ve been completing lately. I don’t think she’s at all impressed with the “in wall” toilet paper cabinet. Teenagers. Am I right? LOL
Now that it’s done, I love it. It’s a full length mirror that doesn’t take up any wall space. It reflects light and makes the bathroom feel more spacious. And the door slides into the wall so it IS more spacious. All good in every way.
So that’s one of my finished projects. You can see another one in this picture. The linen closet is done! So I’ll see you soon with more bathroom updates. Yahoo!
(I’m totally feeling less slumpy these days. Thank you for your encouragement and suggestions to take small bites out of big elephants — one at a time.)
The Door – what you don’t see from the website description
More detail on this mirrored door for those interested in purchasing one. The description on Lowe’s website doesn’t tell you a whole lot. I like it well enough to keep it. Also, I think it was the only mirrored door I could even find without special ordering one for $500. This Hollow Core Mirror Molded Composite Slab door was $188.
The border is pine covered with about 1/4″ MDF on each side. (Which I know because I had to chisel out for the door pulls.) The mirror is beveled and looks lovely from arms distance. But when you get close, you discover that the mirror is just glued to the front of the door. Paper towels will get caught on the corner and tear when you clean the mirror. If I had known this upfront, I still would have purchased it. But the photos are a bit deceiving. The mirror being recessed gives the impression that the mirror is framed. Like the edges of the border detail cover the mirrors edges. But
Ishtar says
It looks AWESOME, and I don’t think it’s an issue at all that the mirror is square while the rest of the doors are rounded.
I am in awe of the fact that, not only do you chisel out door pulls by hand, but you actually framed and hung and leveled another pocket door by yourself, without it banging into everything and having hideous gaps everywhere.
When I had the same issues with a door in a small bathroom last year, I just reversed the swing of the door, and THAT was already intimidating.
I bet that now that you’ve got one thing off your list, the momentum will build up again, and things will start going more smoothly.
Sandra says
Well reversing the door swing is an accomplishment! I do feel the momentum building up and it’s a GOOD feeling!
Pam says
Good morning Sawdust girl, love the pocket door idea. Have one in my 2nd bathroom but never thought about adding a mirror…nice touch. Question for you…what kind of sprayer did you use. I have a sprayer but it looks bigger than what you were using? Keep up the good work! Anything worth working on is worth waiting for. Don’t get discouraged! You are doing a great job!
Sandra says
Thanks Pam. I’m using a Graco 390 airless.
Marsha Rowland says
Nicely done! You continue to amaze me, Sandra! You have learned SO MUCH over the years…and you just keep getting more and more efficient with every new challenge! I AM IMPRESSED AND SO PROUD OF YOU!❤️
Sandra says
Thanks so much Marsha.
Janice says
It looks so good! I love the idea of a mirror that doesn’t take up wall space. Brilliant!
Sandra says
Especially when you don’t have any wall space but you get to have that mirror anyway. It feels like you cheated the system and then got rewarded for it. LOL
Barb H. says
Hey Sawdust Girl;
Love the pocket door with the mirror. How about running a thin bead of caulk around the mirror to seal the edge and give it a finished look. It will also prevent the paper towels from tearing on the corners.
Sandra says
That’s a great idea! Next time I’m caulking I’m going to go do that. Thanks.
Lisa-marie Lewis says
SANDRA! Your pocket door looks AMAZING!!! I absolutely love it! You’ve done an incredible job! We want to replace our French doors with pocket doors and these mirrored doors are exactly what we’ve been looking for – and yes I agree, they’ve been challenging to find at a reasonable price. I was so excited to see your post and door details. Google isn’t bringing up the door anywhere other than Lowe’s and unfortunately in the NY / NJ area the door no longer seems available at any of their stores. Any suggestions to find a similar door at a similar cost to Lowe’s? Thank you so much! Lisa
mendy eskew says
I’m SO happy I just ran across your blog. We have a tiny bathroom being remodeled right now for the first time since (i think) 1974. Demo is done. I can’t do what you do but have a contractor who can try and have a question for you.
We def need an in-door mirror to save space. Is there a way you could imagine to add a mirror to a hardwood pocket door if you don’t like hollow MDF?
I looked online and all I could find was a product in Europe. You’d think these would be easy to find!
Brent says
So glad I found your post. Just installed a pocket door (house should have been built with it), and somewhere I had seen a pic of a mirrored door. I couldn’t find one until I saw your site. I tried to order the primed door from Lowe’s but it’s not available. Hopefully, the white one will match my gloss white trim.
I had a switch box right in the pocket area, and really nowhere to move it to. I used a plastic shallow box; actually two 1-gang boxes. I cut one end off of each box and ‘welded’ them together. I used 1 X 1 ‘studs’ to secure the box and the Romex.
PATRICK tANSON says
Hi,
I can’t find any video on your youtube channel about the finishing! I think it looks lovely and you should post the video so we see!!
Looking forward to the post.
Cheers!!!
Kimberly says
Love this! What does the other side of the door look like? I don’t see a picture or description on the Lowe’s website as well.
Sandra says
Like a 6 panel door.
Stephen Stanko says
Great job on the pocket door. You do good work. We are remodeling our master bath and want to install pocket doors. The one you used with a mirror would be perfect. You found that at Lowe’s? How long ago was that? Is it a 24×80 with 6 panels on the back side? Did you use a Jeld-Wen pocket door frame? I wonder how their brand compares with a Johnson pocket door frame. Sorry for all the questions. Just want to determine if it is an item I want to use. Many times I go to Lowe’s and there is no one there with the knowledge I need to make a decision.
Sandra says
No I used Johnson hardware for the frame. I have used those many times and I like how they install and function. The mirrored door is 6 panel on the back and it is from Lowe’s. It was difficult to find. I thought I had a link in that post. It was in 2017 that I purchased mine.
Andrea Reo says
Interesting that you mention that the mirror is glued onto the door pocket door. I was thinking of ordering a slab door to use in a Johnson pocket door for my closet to bathroom transition. I was thinking it might be more cost effective to glue a mirror onto a single panel slab door. Sounds like what they did there, but I was not sure if it would allow for clearance into the recessed door frame. Amazing job! Looks beautiful!
Sarah says
Hi there! Looks great! Would you mind sharing the baseboard & door trim you used? I am updating my bathroom & pocket door and I Love the look. Thanks!
Sandra says
I don’t know names for the trim I use. I go to a building supply store and buy what I like.