Borderless bathroom mirror

[Ivanov_d]

First things first. It all started 2 years ago when I started building a smart home system based on Home Assistant. The next logical step for me was a smart bathroom mirror that would display my calendar, commute to work information, weather info and sensor info from my smart home.

I had all the needed hardware - 24"LCD, Raspberry Pi 3b+ and etc.

I wanted a frameless mirror as it looked more slick, modern and professional.

I decided to go with the mirror that Goldjunge_Chriz offered as it had a lot of positive reviews on the forum albeit being more expensive.

The setup is the following:

• 80x73 cm two-way mirror (I was the unlucky winner who got a broken mirror by the courier, but that’s another story. I managed to glue it just for the sake of testing. I found a mirror company here in Bulgaria that offers a better and cheaper alternative but I will share more details on that later)
• 24" LCD monitor
• WRGB LED strip behind the mirror, controlled by H801 Wi-Fi controller integrated with Home Assistant
• PS3 eye camera behind the mirror which is responsible for face recognition and voice commands
• External motion sensor turns on the mirror and switches it off after there is no motion detected (Home Assistant automation)
• The WRGB LED is controlled by Home Assistant

The frame:

• Built out of 50x50 mm Г-shaped aluminum profiles, welded together
• On the back of the mirror there is a non-transparent foil cut to the dimensions of the monitor
• The frame is glued to the mirror through the foil

Some pictures of the back of the mirror before it is installed:

Videos of the mirror in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eljzwpAeAdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNTWafM9NF4

Considerations:

• The mirror is too dark … it is not suitable for rooms with no natural light. I will be testing another mirror at a later stage and will come back with the results, but this one is definitely not going to serve as a normal mirror in your bathroom.
• You have to stick something to the back of the mirror (e.g. non-transperant foil, wood panel or something else, otherwise you will be able to see through)
• If you can afford it (I can’t at the moment) go for an OLED monitor/TV - the LCD backlight is seen through the mirror and while it is not that bad I am perfectionist and it bothers me :D

[adrian.k]

Looking very good! I also have an issue with a dark mirror, but placed mine in the living room where there are more natural light.

[Fa]

Hello !
it’s great
could you please detail your used modules please

[Ivanov_d]

Sure.

Currently I am using:

• MMM-MyCalendar
• MMM-DarkSkyForecast
• MMM-homeassistant-sensors
• MMM-Spotify
• MMM-GoogleAssistant
• MMM-GoogleBirthdaysProvider
• MMM-MyCommute

[InternetPolice]

Thanks for the link to your topic @Ivanov_d . What foil did you use (link amazon) and what glue?

Now I am concerned about the dark mirror, because I ordered a huge one from Chris. It was planned as Bathroom mirror, based on a clear picture of him and a youtube video where somebody set up his own AI.

[Ivanov_d]

@internetpolice you can use any foil, I used the cheapest PVC foil.
A piece of advice - I thought that white foil would add additional reflection to the mirror and make it brighter, but it didn’t and I swapped it with black foil - it is much better.

The glue that I used is this one:

However, since you will be gluing it to the PVC foil and not to the mirror directly, you could use any silicone.

Since as I mentioned in the start of my thread the mirror, I received from Chris was damaged during transit, I bought a new one from a company in Bulgaria which is much better and cheaper (which I hope to soon offer here on the forum) and when I was removing the old mirror from the frame … man, it was strong … I broke the mirror in multiple places as I was cutting the silicone, so you should not worry about the mirror not sticking, it is not that heavy as the mirror is thin.

[InternetPolice]

@ivanov_d Thanks for the details.

[tomster]

@ivanov_d said in Borderless bathroom mirror:

• If you can afford it (I can’t at the moment) go for an OLED monitor/TV - the LCD backlight is seen through the mirror and while it is not that bad I am perfectionist and it bothers me :D

I haven’t tried an OLED Display yet, mainly because they are not available (at a decent price) in 27"/32" yet. But I would assume there’d be a noticeable amount of burn-in/ghosting due to our 99.7% static content. Especially when you turn up brightness to the extent necessary to compensate for a “dark” (=low transmission) mirror.
BTW, I can second the “dark feel” on Chriz’ mirrors. My bathroom isn’t exactly what I’d call dark but the mirror still won’t give you a feel like a real mirror.

My next go will be for a VA-panel display. They’re said to have a quite decent contrast ratio and seem to have a “blacker” black than IPS panels .
I am right in the middle of putting a ~600x1800mm mirror on the cupboard in our hallway. This time I’ll be opting for a Mirroview mirror with 25/60% transmission/reflection in hope of a more realistic mirror feel. The display will be a Viewsonic VX3267-4K. keep fingers crossed

[Ivanov_d]

@tomster in my case I hope that burn-in won’t be an issue, since the display is ON for only few minutes, when I am in front of the mirror, then it goes into sleep, but as you said it is not yet mass produced in the size that I need for my project and the niche products cost a lot.

Just FYI, this is the mirror that I am using now and it is a bit better that the previous one that I used and a lot cheaper: https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/15553/new-2-way-mirror-supplier-lower-prices-and-lead-times?_=1632237048367

In natural light you can’t tell that this is not a regular mirror and in dim conditions it is perfectly usable as a mirror, for example I shave in front of it even with only my ambient lights on. When I turn on all lights it looks the same as regular mirror it terms of reflection.

[tomster]

@ivanov_d Your mirror seems like a good alternative. Do you have a picture/video of it?

[Ivanov_d]

Hello @tomsterand sorry for the late reply, I was out of town for a few days. I am planning to shoot few 4K/60 videos with my GoPro in different lightning conditions today, so that everyone can see the mirror in action.

[bkost]

Great work, Ivanov! I’m working on a similar build. (Frameless, LEDs, Motion Detection).

I’m curious, how are you powering the LEDs and Pi?
Right now I’m running a 5v10a PSU, splitting it to power both: Pi 3b+ and a strip of Ws2812b.

Getting a low power draw (lightning bolt symbol) signal on my Pi. I’m also running a separate PSU to power my monitor. Do you happen to be powering everything from one power supply?

Cheers

[Ivanov_d]

@bkost I am using three different PSUs - A 5V 3A for the RPi, a separate 5V 30W for the LED strip and the original PSU for the display, but it all depends on your setup and the length of the LED strip. However, I would advise you to have separate PSUs as the LED strip draws quite a lot of current especially if all channels, including the white are used.

[Ivanov_d]

https://youtu.be/wqJNxCwOmck - the latest video of my mirror showing the different artificial lights that I have in the bathroom and how the light is reflected.