Mirror, Mirror on the Wall Fashion and Function, Tell Me All

I love mirrors. Not just because they tell us whether our hair is behaving before we walk out the door. From a decorating perspective, mirrors are one of those wonderful pieces that can completely change a room while actually serving a purpose.

And I am always a fan of pretty AND practical.

A mirror can make a room feel bigger, bounce light around, fill an awkward wall, reflect a beautiful view and introduce another shape, texture or finish into a space.

But—and there is always a but—where you put it matters.

What Are You Reflecting?

This is probably the first thing I think about when deciding where to place a mirror. Before you hang it, look at what it's actually going to reflect. A beautiful window? Perfect. A piece of art? Lovely. Greenery, a fireplace or another pretty part of the room? Even better. The bathroom door or the pile of stuff sitting by the back entrance? Not so much.

We spend so much time thinking about how the mirror itself looks that we sometimes forget we're essentially putting a giant reflection on the wall. Make sure it's reflecting something you actually want to see twice.

Yes, Mirrors Really Can Make a Room Feel Bigger

This isn't just one of those decorating sayings. They really can. Mirrors create depth because visually, your eye keeps travelling. That's particularly helpful in a small entry, a narrow hallway or a room that just feels a little closed in.

And please don't think that because your room is small, your mirror has to be small.

Quite often, it's the opposite.

One fabulous oversized mirror can make a much bigger impact than several little things trying desperately to fill a wall.

Let Them Work With the Light

If you have a room that feels dark, take a look at where your natural light is coming from.

Placing a mirror where it can catch that light and send it back into the room can make an amazing difference.

And again, pay attention to what's being reflected along with that light. If you can position the mirror so it captures both the natural light AND something beautiful, you've just made that mirror work twice as hard.

Don't Forget About Shape

This is one of my favourite little tricks.

Take a look around your room. Square sofa. Rectangular coffee table. Rectangular windows. Square artwork. Rectangular console. That's a lot of corners. This is where I might introduce a round mirror. It breaks up all those straight lines and immediately softens the room.

But I probably wouldn't stop there. If I introduce a new shape into a space, I like to quietly repeat it somewhere else. Maybe it's a floor lamp with a beautiful curve. Maybe it's a round end table, the shape of a decorative bowl or even the curve in the pattern of a pillow. It doesn't need to match. Actually, I don't want it to match. I just want that shape to show up again somewhere in the room. It's a little bit like repeating a colour or a pattern. Your eye may not consciously pick up on why the room feels connected—it just does. Repeat, but break it up.

Too much repetition starts to look themed. None at all can make a room feel disconnected. I like that little spot in between, where there's enough repetition to create consistency without making it too obvious. So if everything in your room has corners, throw it a curve. Then, somewhere else, quietly do it again.

The Frame Matters Too

I look at the frame of a mirror almost the same way I look at a piece of furniture. Wood can add warmth. Black can add contrast and definition. Gold can bring warmth and a little glamour, while silver can give you a cooler, cleaner feel. And no, your metals don't all have to match.

That said, I do have a rule I tend to stick to: I usually limit myself to two metal finishes in a room.

Some designers will disagree with me on this one, and that's okay. I find two gives you enough variation to make a room interesting without having every finish in the neighbourhood invited to the party.

Gold and black? Absolutely.

Silver and black? Beautiful.

Gold and silver together?

Nope. I just can't do it.

I know it's done. I know there are people who love it. I'm not one of them. At the end of the day, your home doesn't have to follow every design rule or trend. It needs to feel pulled together—and most importantly, it needs to feel like you.

Watch Your Scale

This one gets me. A beautiful six-foot console with a tiny little mirror floating somewhere above it is going to look... well, tiny.

If the furniture has presence, the mirror needs enough presence to hold its own. The same goes for height. Don't hang it way up near the ceiling because you think you need to “fill the wall.” A mirror over a console, dresser or buffet should visually relate to what's underneath it. They should look like they belong together.

And sometimes bigger really is better. I'd rather see one beautiful, appropriately scaled mirror than a small one surrounded by a bunch of things that were added simply because the wall looked empty. Not every inch needs to be filled.

The Entryway

If there's one place where fashion and function really come together, it's the entryway. A mirror gives you that last look before you walk out the door, but it can also make an entrance feel larger and brighter.

Pair it with a console, a lamp, some greenery and a few things you genuinely love.

Think Beyond the Mirror That Came With It

Here's another place I think we can have a little more fun with mirrors. The bedroom. Just because your dresser came with a matching mirror doesn't mean you have to use it. In fact, I often prefer not to.

Instead, try a beautiful round mirror, an interesting shape or a frame that introduces another finish into the room. Suddenly the dresser doesn't look like part of a matching bedroom suite—it feels more collected and personal.

Bathrooms are another one. A bathroom mirror doesn't have to be a plain sheet of glass—or the traditional medicine cabinet we've all seen a thousand times. There are some BEAUTIFUL bathroom mirrors now.

You can find mirrors with integrated lighting that gives you lovely, even light for getting ready. You can also find incredibly streamlined storage mirrors that give you all the function of a medicine cabinet without actually looking like one.

So yes, I can hide the toothpaste, have great lighting AND have a beautiful mirror. Now we're speaking my language. It's another perfect example of something I come back to again and again: Practical doesn't have to mean boring.

Mirrors Don't Have to Be an Afterthought

I think that's really the point. We often treat mirrors like something we add at the end because we need to fill a wall. I look at them differently.

A mirror can solve a problem. Dark room? Reflect the light. Small room? Create some depth.

Too many straight lines? Add a curve—and quietly repeat that curve somewhere else. Need a little warmth or contrast? Let the frame introduce it. Beautiful view? Reflect it and enjoy it twice. And if it happens to tell you that you have lipstick on your teeth before you leave the house? Even better.

Your home doesn't have to look like a magazine cover. It doesn't have to follow every trend, and it certainly doesn't need to follow every so-called design rule.

It should be beautiful.

It should work for the people who actually live there.

And it should feel like you.

Mirror, mirror on the wall... fashion and function really can have it all.