Decorating With Mirrors

Today I wanted us to chat about MIRRORS. I have loved decorating with mirrors for what seems like my entire married life. My parents gave me a large rectangular mirror the first Christmas after I married and it has proudly hung in my living room or dinning room ever since. The mirror can hang either horizontally or vertically. For many years I hung it horizontally. At the time I lived in a small bungalow with standard 8 foot ceilings. I assumed that since my ceilings were rather low, I would have to always use the mirror in this way. One day after I had repainted the living room and dining room and had new flooring installed, I decided to try some tricks I had learned about decorating small spaces.

Here's lesson #1:

If you want your space to live large, don't be afraid to decorate to the ceiling.

What I mean is, don't be timid about using all the wall space, all the way up to the crown molding or ceiling. So I turned my big, ornate mirror vertically for the first time! In order for it to clear the buffet I had to hang it so high it almost touched the ceiling. Wow! What a difference that made. Instantly this simple change seemed to add volume to my room
and draw the eye upward!

Here's lesson #2:

Use mirrors to double the impact of your home's beauty and elongate views.

When you carefully consider the reflection seen in the mirror, you can create an expanded sense of openness, maximize the availability of natural light, and add dimension and interest to a flat wall.

Here's lesson #3:

When decorating with mirrors make sure the reflection is one of beauty.

Mirrors can give your room added sparkle, twinkle and pizazz and create the loveliest type of double vision. However, when placing mirrors, be careful that the reflection is one you want to see twice. I visited a potential client one day and upon entering her Foyer I noticed that she had hung a mirror in the hall. Directly across the hall was the Powder Room and when the door was open you saw the reflection of the toilet. Definitely not what you want to reflect.

In the photo above, a classic gold round mirror is hung over a rather ornate, white mantle. Drawing the eye instantly to this focal point, thus allowing the eye to roam freely over the accessories placed in a symmetrical arrangement on the mantle. The reflection you see is more of the lovely, warm ambiance of the room.
In this photo, a large vertical mirror is used over the buffet table in the dinning room. While the photo doesn't show this detail, the placement is directly behind the dinning table. I believe that the full reflection will be one of the beautiful table and it's guests when occupied.

Have you noticed how it has become the "thing to do" to hang wreaths, framed art, and other mirrors on top of mirrors? In this photo, a framed art piece is hung from cord over the expanse of mirrored wall space.

I love how a collage of mirrors is used to decorate this Master Bedroom. Keeping with black, round frames in various sizes, this designer has created a focal wall that naturally draws the eye to the bed while reflecting ambient light and adding "sparkle" to the calm and restful decor. I will feature a Master Bedroom Redo in a future post. You will see how I used a grouping of various shaped gold mirrors to recreate this affect in my house.

In this last example, an unadorned mirror is hung above a low chest.

An abstract art piece is then set on top of the chest and "leaned" back on the mirror.

The reflection that is seen is of the windows across the room doubling the natural light.

Another great use for mirrors is to disguise an unattractive area in a room, or enhance a prominent architectural feature. So whatever your goal may be for decorating in 2009, consider doubling the beauty with a beautiful mirror!

(Photos - Traditional Home - http://www.traditionalhome.com)

Happy Decorating!

~ Alisa