First of all, if you’re asking, “do I really need to anchor my mirror to the wall? I mean, it’s leaning, so it’s sturdy,” then let me just say, YES! (And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, CLICK HERE for the post on this master bedroom update.)

I mean, if you don’t have small children or pets at home, then maybe you’ll be okay. But if you do have small children or pets, then absolutely, yes! We aren’t big on baby proofing around here (we only have like 3 drawers or cabinets in our whole house that have a lock on them, and we only use a gate for the stairs. We typically try to teach our kids what they can and cannot do instead of relying on a lock. BUT…anchoring big furniture to the wall is one area where I do not compromise.

Here’s the thing, every 30 minutes, a child is taken to the ER because a piece of furniture or a TV fell on him or her. Yikes. So, it’s just not a risk we feel good about taking. Especially because it’s actually very, very quick and easy to anchor those items to the wall. And there are ways to get free or really cheap kits to do it, so no excuses, friends!

Also, you can’t see the anchors if they are done correctly! It isn’t like a giant baby lock on the toilet or something! See…not visible at all!

Sidenote, looking for big, beautiful leaning mirror like mine? Here are three I love–that last one is only a little over $100! 

Here the other side, you can barely see our mirror is anchored if you look through the plant. So, it’s not noticeable, it’s easy to do, and it’s basically free. In the words of Nike, Just do it, friends.

And yes, I know I just said I don’t do baby proofing and there is a gate in this photo–that’s not used as a safety gate but rather a consequence gate. Ha. When the kids don’t listen and won’t stop jumping or wrestling on our bed, I put up the gate to keep them out of our bedroom when I’m in there until they are ready to try again later.

Anyway, there’s my soapbox for the day. Let’s get on with it.

Here’s how to anchor a leaning mirror:

1 . We started by finding a stud in the wall. This is important. You can also use a drywall anchor but really a stud is best if your mirror is big and heavy like this one.

2. Then, mark the wall about halfway down the mirror where you are going to attach it. If you attach it too high up, it won’t sit/lean flat against the wall because the anchor will be in the way. Remember, the anchor isn’t to hold it in place where you want it, it’s just to ensure the mirror doesn’t fall all the way down if it gets bumped. You can see that if I try to pull ours away from the wall, it only moves about this far before the anchor catches it and won’t let it go farther.

3. Attach the wall side of the anchor to your marked spot on the wall according to the instructions on your specific kit.

4. Attach the item side to the back of the mirror. Make sure you have something you can attach it to. Ours had a wooden piece along the edge to screw into. But you can’t screw into the glass of the actual mirror! Some mirrors have hanging kits you can attach to, just make sure it won’t rip off the back of the mirror if pulled.

5. Lean up the mirror and attach the pieces together with the strap or the zip that came with your kit.

6. Tighten the strap until the mirror is leaning how you want it and sitting nicely against the wall at the top where it is leaning. It will be slightly visible from the side, but honestly, no one is going to be looking behind your mirror. And you can put it lower or higher than eye level to hide it some. I put ours lower to hide it behind the plant rather than up higher at eye level. You could put it down even lower if you wanted.

You can see that it’s basically invisible, even from the side where it is technically visible. Like, this is standing right next to it with my camera focused right on it.

Ok, so not totally invisible since you CAN see it…but you get that it’s not distracting in any way. I NEVER stand here and look at it. I stand in front of it and look at myself. Or my kids being all cute.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a kit, the very best place to start (for free!) is the back of the item. The mirror we purchased came with a kit, and most big pieces of furniture will too. You can also ask at furniture stores if they have them if they don’t come with the kit. I know Ikea has a program where you can get them for free for their dressers. It’s here.

There are also a few charities or programs that give them out for free. We got several from Charlie’s House for free from a furniture store at a local baby event here in KC before Will was born. But you can also get them for free online with just paying a small shipping and handling fee (less than $3 I think).  These are actually our favorite kits to use and I need to order some more. Another online resource is Safe and Sound with Amaya.

Or, if requesting those free ones seems like too much trouble or you need a bunch at one time, they are super affordable from Amazon and can be on your doorstep in 1-2 days, right? Here’s a link for a 2 pack of the strap style. Or the zip tie style we prefer. You can see that’s the style we used in this post!

Have you anchored big things to the wall in your home? It’s so quick and could save a life, or a big hospital ER bill!