Three weekends ago I was standing in my hallway holding a perfectly boring round mirror, wondering why it looked so flat against the wall. I’d been scrolling design accounts for an hour trying to figure out what was missing, and it hit me: every single “after” photo I kept saving had a wavy, scalloped edge instead of a plain circle. So I did what I always do when a project seems slightly out of my depth — I bought a cheap sheet of plywood and a jigsaw and figured it out in my garage. This post walks through exactly how I built my own scalloped mirror frame, including the two cuts I had to redo. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, so a few of the tools and materials below link out to the exact products I used.
Why This Is Trending Now
Curves have been creeping into home design for a couple of years, but 2026 is the year they took over completely. Houzz’s design trends coverage puts it plainly: “Curves are reshaping interiors, appearing in furniture, cabinetry, mirrors, tile and architectural details.” That same report calls out rounded sofas, arched cabinetry, and scalloped edges as one of the defining looks homeowners are chasing this year, with the firm Persimmon Design cited for using curved, sculptural shapes to soften a Seattle living room and create a sense of flow.
Separately, Houzz’s own search data backs this up in a big way — in its roundup of design trends emerging in 2026, searches for “scalloped tile” tripled year over year, while “wave tile” searches climbed 38% and “arched range hoods” jumped 177%. Mirrors are one of the cheapest, lowest-commitment ways to bring that curved, wavy look into a room without touching your cabinetry or flooring, which is exactly why this project has been popping up all over my feed since late summer.
What You’ll Need
- A ¾-inch plywood or MDF board, at least a few inches wider all around than your mirror — birch plywood board
- A round mirror or mirror insert (I used a plain 20-inch round mirror) — round mirror insert
- A cordless jigsaw with a fine-tooth wood blade — cordless jigsaw
- A drawing compass or trammel for marking your scallop template — woodworking trammel
- Sandpaper in a range of grits — sandpaper variety pack
- Wood filler for smoothing joints and mistakes — wood filler
- Paint or stain in your finish of choice — matte spray paint
- Mirror mounting clips or heavy-duty mirror adhesive — mirror adhesive
- A French cleat or heavy-duty picture hanger kit — French cleat hanger kit
- Safety glasses and clamps — safety glasses and clamps
Step 1: Choose Your Mirror and Plan the Scale
Start with the mirror, not the frame. Everything else is built around it. A 16 to 24-inch round mirror is the easiest size to work with for a first attempt — big enough to make a statement, small enough that your plywood board doesn’t turn into an unwieldy monster on your workbench. Measure the diameter and add at least 6 to 8 inches on all sides for the scalloped border, since the “waves” need enough width to actually read as waves and not just a slightly bumpy edge.
Step 2: Draw Your Scallop Template
This is the step I almost skipped, and I’m glad I didn’t. Using your compass, draw the outer circle for your mirror opening first, sized to your mirror’s actual diameter. Then, working around that circle, mark evenly spaced points — I used 12 — and draw a series of overlapping half-circles (“scallops”) connecting each point, using the compass set to roughly 3 to 4 inches. If freehand math isn’t your thing, sketch it on paper first, cut a paper template, and trace it onto the plywood. Symmetry is what sells this look, so take the extra ten minutes here.
Step 3: Cut the Frame with Your Jigsaw
Clamp the plywood securely to your work surface before you cut anything — a board that shifts mid-cut is how you end up with a lopsided scallop and a bad word under your breath. Cut the outer scalloped edge first, following your traced line slowly and letting the blade do the work rather than forcing it through corners. Once the outer edge is done, drill a small starter hole inside the marked mirror circle and cut the inner opening the same way, going slow around the curve.
Step 4: Sand Every Edge Until It’s Smooth
Jigsaw cuts always leave some roughness, especially on the tight curves between scallops. Start with a coarser grit to knock down any splintering, then work up through medium and fine grits until you can run your hand along the entire edge without catching a snag. Fill any small gouges or uneven spots with wood filler, let it dry fully, then sand those patches flush. This is the step that separates a “handmade in the best way” frame from one that just looks unfinished.
Step 5: Paint or Stain the Frame
Wipe away all the sanding dust with a damp cloth before you touch a paintbrush or spray can — dust trapped under paint is a mistake you’ll be looking at every day. I went with a matte terracotta spray paint in three thin coats, letting each one dry fully, because the earthy tone leaned into the same warm, curved aesthetic Houzz described. A natural wood stain works just as well if you want the grain to show through instead.
Step 6: Attach the Mirror to the Frame
Once your frame is fully dry, lay it face-down and center your mirror over the opening from the back. If you’re using mounting clips, screw them in at even intervals around the mirror’s back edge to hold it snugly against the frame. If you’re using adhesive instead, apply it in dots (never a solid ring, which can trap moisture and eventually crack the mirror) and press the mirror firmly in place, weighting it down while it cures according to the product’s instructions.
Step 7: Install Your Hanging Hardware
Attach a French cleat or a heavy-duty D-ring hanger to the back of the frame, positioned so the finished piece will hang level — this matters more with an irregular scalloped shape than with a plain square frame, since your eye catches asymmetry instantly. Mount the matching cleat or hooks to the wall at a stud whenever possible, especially if you went with a heavier plywood, then hang the mirror and step back to actually look at it before you call the project done.
Mistakes I Made (So You Don’t Have To)
My first scallop template had 10 points instead of 12, and once I’d already cut halfway through the board I realized the spacing looked slightly off-center — not enough to notice from across the room, but enough that it bugged me every time I walked past it. I ended up sanding down the worst offender and repainting rather than starting over, and honestly you can’t tell now unless I point it out. I also rushed the sanding on my first pass and had to go back over two scallops a second time after the paint highlighted every rough spot I’d missed. If I did this again, I’d trace my paper template twice before cutting, and I’d sand under a bright work light instead of the dim overhead bulb in my garage.
What surprised me most is how much cheaper this ended up being than buying a scalloped mirror ready-made — most of the ones I’d been eyeing online ran well over $150 for a similar size, and this cost me under $50 in materials since I already owned the tools. It’s not a perfect mirror. A couple of the waves are very slightly deeper than others if you look closely. But it’s the first piece in my house that actually looks like it belongs in the photos I’d been saving, and that’s more than I expected from a Saturday afternoon in the garage.