I have installed two Mirror Mates frame and in both instances, overall I am satisfied. One, the Venetian Silver Wave, looks high end and is beautiful. I will share the pros, cons and a couple of tips.
First, the pros. I needed customer service assistance with both orders as well regarding a few isdues and was happy not only to encounter live humans, but also that they were very responsive and helpful.
The several videos available online are very useful. Though both of my mirrors were very large and installed in somewhat confined spaces, I was able, with a little finagaling, to install them without a helper. Assembly was a breeze. In both instances, the frames definitely made a difference and the result, with such a minor addition, is pretty amazing.
The cons. The first, and most expensive, of my two frames, arrived damaged as there were two chips in the paint along one edge and, on one corner, a small part of the wood was chipped off. Because I did not want to go through the hassel of reordering and waiting several more weeks for a replacement, I was able to glue one paint chip back into place. For the other paint chip and the wood chip, I dabbed on a little matching silver metallic paint. Customer service provided only a very minimal, token refund. I was told their policy is to replace the damaged part of the frame. However, waiting for replacement parts would have been inconvenient and annoying, given I had already waited a considersble time to receive the original frame.
If you don't like visible seams, this is not the product for you. For me, they are clearly visible but it's not a deal breaker. The replacement mirror clips were useless. They actually were more of an obstruction than the original plastic clips and the round padding didn't even make contact with the mirror.
On each frame, the white paper that needs to be removed from the double sided tape failed to release easily and cleanly.
Tips. Do watch a few videos and read all of the instructions first. For the stubborn white paper, using a tweaser to grab corners was helpful. Note, it appears the plastic white connectors have changed and look and install a bit differently than the ones in most videos. Until I realized this I was confused and thought I had received the wrong parts.
If you need it fast, cough up a few more bucks for expedited 2 day shipping. Otherwise, be prepared to wait about 3 weeks. Regarding the glue, a little goes a long way. If you over do it, you will just have more to clean up after. I used the packing materials to place under the corners to protect the floor from the glue.
Though both mirrors were intended to sit on an existing back splash, for some reason the second mirror needed to be a little above. Possibly, my measurement was off a hair. For this one, the cardboard corners were a life saver.
After you assemble, immediately carefully turn over the frame and remove the excess glue then wait the required drying time. The instructions say 30 minutes. I waited about an hour.
Most of the videos suggest using a similar colored marker to color the edges in case they show. In each of my two installations, I did this but because no portion of these edges showed, I could have skipped this step.
Oh, I do recommend doing the extra step of ordering samples. For my second frame, Highline Slim Silver Patina totaly looks gold and not quite as high end as my first frame. I definitely regret not ordering samples becsuse it looks nothing like any of the pictures online. My first order, the Venetian Silver Wave, though thankfully I still like it, looks much more shiny in person.
Again, overall, this product is a great and easy way to add a little extra pizzazz to a bathroom and beats repairing drywall after removing a large mirror glued to the wall. Regarding reviews on the company website, pictures in the reviews all look very picture perfect. I noted that the review I posted, pretty similar to this one, did not include any of the pictures I attached to my review, including before and after pics as well as pics of the chipped frame. If the company is limiting photos that show issues, I find this to be a poor practice and disingenuous.
Only other issue. Now my medicine cabinet looks bare. Going to order a complementary frame to dress that up too because, again overall, the pros outweighed the cons and as such I also still recommend Mirror Mates frames.
Update: If it were possible to give a rating for customer service only, I would hands down give Mirror Mates 5 stars for customer service. Apparently, as a followup to the review I left on their website, I received a call asking some questions for clarification and asking if there was something they could do so that I felt satisfied. Many companies don't invest this kind of effort. Appreciated. read more