Whether you’re decorating an apartment, bedroom, bathroom or entire house, the mirror is the must-have accent. Coming from someone who believes you can never have enough mirrors in the home, here are some useful and stylish ways to incorporate them into each room of the house:
Size matters
Are you decorating that trendy downtown Manhattan loft and therefore starved for space? I’m sure by now you’ve already done plenty of research on space-saving decorating techniques, but here’s one more you may not have heard about: add a mirror. Putting a mirror in a room, particularly a tiny area, will visually expand the space. Create the illusion of a bigger bedroom or living room with this strategically placed object. The same goes for narrow corridors or staircases: adding a mirror to the wall will seemingly expand the space and create a pleasant transition from one room to the next.
Functional design
Is practical your middle name when it comes to decorating the home? If it is, spring for furniture that incorporates a mirror, like a wardrobe. A floor to ceiling wardrobe with outer mirrors is the best way to kill two birds with one stone: a place for all your shoes and clothes and the essential full-length mirror that you can’t leave the house without catching a glimpse in.
Look at me
Yes, mirrors have a way of making us stare just a little bit longer at ourselves, but you can also use it as the focal point of a room, a combination of art and functional practicality. Choose something, loud, bold, and that makes a statement, but also pay attention to the craftsmanship. You can spring for something that is truly a work of art: a mosaic-trimmed wall mirror can be a lively burst of color and reflects light throughout the whole room in addition to being a functional piece. Play with shapes like this mosaic mirror from Canto Hondo Firenze:
or really choose an eye-catching piece like this Signora Bovary Mirror: iridescent glass mosaic with flecks of gold details.
Window illusion
If you’re working with a room that’s limited for windows and natural sunlight, a little trick is to position a mirror adjacent a window to give the illusion of another window in the room. It will not only increase the sunlight tenfold, but will add a completely different element to the room.
Back porch from drab to fab
Do you have an outdoor porch or patio area that you’re trying to make cozy? Now we’re seeing an increase in outdoor kitchens, dining areas and exterior fireplaces, but adding a mirror just may be the thing that pulls it all together to make it feel like a comfortable space you’ll want to spend summer evenings in.
Arts and crafts
Mirrors aren’t just made for walls. If you’re the creative type who likes to delve a bit into DIY, find other uses in the house for mirrors, even repurposing some of your old ones. Turn them into nifty centrepieces for your dining room or coffee table. Or take other objects throughout the house and combine them with your repurposed mirrors.
Flip them, hang them, style them, repurpose them: get resourceful with the mirrors throughout your house and find the best way that they can serve your interior design needs.
