If I were to group all the furnishings and decor in my entire home into like items to see what I had the most of, the mirror category would win out. Why do I have so many? Well, aside from the more obvious, they serve our home in more ways than just reflecting an outfit. Today, I’m sharing all about decorating with mirrors — tips, favorites, and when/where I decide to put them.
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Reasons to Decorate with Mirrors
From the obvious, to maybe the less evident, using mirrors (and a lot of them!) throughout our home is working for us in all kinds of ways. Here are a few…
- Self reflection — Okay, duh. But, it’s an important one to keep in mind — not just for the purpose, but for location and to remind yourself when you’re furnishing your home, that there are lots of places where being able to catch a reflection is beneficial. A few often overlooked areas… next to your home’s entry/exit and the guest bedroom. I can’t stress the latter enough. I have stayed in many a guest room without a mirror and let’s face it — it’s easy to overlook if you aren’t the one using the room. And even easier to overlook if you don’t have traditional bedroom furniture in the room, presenting obvious places to position a mirror. If you don’t already, get a mirror in your spare room. Bonus points if you create enough space for a full length mirror.
- Makes the room bigger — The reflective surface makes the room feel bigger. This is also why it’s important to scale the area and push the size limits (I try to err on the side of oversized). A too-small mirror can make it feel poorly planned or even make the space feel smaller.
- Makes the room brighter — Again, the reflection bounces light and adds light to more shadowy spaces. And more light throughout your home can turn your dreary spaces right around.
- It’s one of the easiest ways to decorate the wall — Aside from a frame decision, you don’t have to worry about coordinating colors like you have to do with art pieces. Mirrors look good just about anywhere and when in doubt, a mirror of some sort is my first go-to.
- It can be a “wow” for the room — If you’re needing a statement or “moment” in the room, a mirror can do that. By opting for a large scale or unique frame, your mirror can be the art you’ve been looking for.
As a side note, I especially love mirrors at Christmas time. The special effects they create against whimsical seasonal decor is just something. Here’s a look back at my office tree eight-ish? years ago. Just from this peek, you can see how it reflects light, makes the space bigger, and is creating a “wow” in the room.
Decorating with Round Mirrors
TBH, I think round mirrors are the easiest to use in home decor. They look great on a blank wall, can be paired with something like a bench underneath to really anchor them in, they are easier to fudge on the placement since there aren’t edges, and you can worry less about height and the physical task of hanging them since there are no corners. In a sea of a lot of rectangles, it gives an opportunity to break up the monotony of silhouettes and gives an opportunity to soften the space with a variety of shapes.
As a matter of fact, I think my favorite places to hang round mirrors are over dressers, consoles, and sideboards for that very reason. Here are a few ways I’ve done just that throughout my house.
In our former breakfast nook, I used a 48″ mirror. I loved the thin frame that made the mirror more modern as a juxtaposition against some of the room’s more traditional elements. THIS thin framed round mirror from Wayfair is one of my all time faves — it comes in a BUNCH of sizes (up to 48″) and comes in several finishes, including black, silver, gold, etc. HERE. The value can’t be beat and unlike mirrors at most retailers that see a pretty hefty delivery fee because of the size and nature of fragility, they ship fast and free on Wayfair, since orders over $35 ship free.
Mirror (similar) | Woven Bar Stools | Dining Chairs (similar)
Here’s the favorite thin-framed mirror from Wayfair in the gold finish, in Eliza’s room. You can find it HERE in all 10 sizes and finishes.
Mirror | Dresser (similar 1, similar 2) | Rug
THIS round mirror from Wayfair is SO similar to the mirror above but it has an extra little hook detail at the top. It ALSO comes in 10 sizes, several finish colors, and is incredibly budget friendly.
Mirror | Lamp | Chrome Luggage Rack
See it in all the size and color options HERE.
One note about decorating with mirrors above furniture — I like to go BIG. It’s still a relatively inexpensive way to create a big statement, but I like almost the entire area above the furniture piece to be reflective and bright since the furniture piece itself is usually pretty heavy, visually. If you have a mirror that’s too small, it can make the painted wall around the mirror feel kind of dead and overwhelming to the mirror, in comparison to the big furniture piece. I’ve switched round mirrors for larger round mirrors and it’s an instant upgrade.
My mom uses a smaller round mirror above the sideboard in her office but her large lamps help balance it all out. I love how her pretty mirror frame acts as a focal art piece without overwhelming all the other details in her office.
Mirror (similar) | Ivory Velvet Task Chair
From clean, simple lines that cater to a more modern, minimalistic aesthetic to more ornate frames, here are nine round mirrors I’m loving right now. Most come in multiple sizes and frame colors!
1. Bone and Brass Mirror | 2. Round Cane Mirror | 3. Gold Baroque Mirror | 4. Sunburst Mirror | 5. Round Metal Mirror | 6. Round Wood Mirror | 7. Rattan Scallop Mirror | 8. Wood Ball Mirror | 9. Round Metal Mirror
Decorating with Other Wall Mirrors
While round mirrors may be my favorite and in my opinion, the easiest to decorate with, there are lots of instances where I prefer a rectangular/standard wall mirror. I love a rectangular mirror on a short wall, above a small accent piece, or if it’s really oversized and I can use it to accentuate the height of the ceiling/make the ceilings look taller. I also try to make sure I’m switching my mirror shapes up and that I’m not including two of the same shaped mirror in the same sight line.
My entry has a really short wall with an awkwardly placed light switch that I had to work around, which didn’t make a tall mirror possible. THIS inexpensive, traditional but uniquely shaped mirror that I found at Wayfair years ago works perfectly — especially with the bottom corner scallops that make way for the lights.
Mirror | Accent Cabinet | White Stoneware Vase
My mom’s rectangular entry mirror makes sense with her entry chest…
And I love that baroque style so much, I actually have a similar style in the breakfast nook, but tall and oversized. It helps open up the small nook and makes my main level ceiling feel taller than it is. It also gives a little tradition to a room that has modern and mid-century furnishings.
Woven Bar Stools | White Stoneware Vase
I’m including a bunch of baroque style mirrors in the widget below to browse — they come in all sizes, shapes, price points, and frame finish colors!
Scroll & Tap to Browse
I use wall mirrors — especially with an interesting frame — on short walls and shadowy half walls…
Mirror (similar)
And I’m also known to use them above nightstands, to frame a bed.
Beaded Chandelier | Concrete Table Lamps | Garden Stools (similar)
One of my favorite rectangle wall mirror moments is in our primary bathroom. We have really tall ceilings and I didn’t want to cut half the room off vertical-wise so during our bathroom reno, I ordered THESE affordable mirrors with the slim simple frames in the 48″ version — the more narrow width gave me space to install side sconces and I love the overall aesthetic.
In general, I can’t recommend THIS mirror enough for any bathroom — it’s so versatile, comes in several sizes, and comes in multiple finish options. The quality is phenomenal, too.
Mirror | Vanity | Faucet | Tub
Here are a few standard wall mirror favorites available right now (obviously, I’m loving the rattan and woven details!) Most of these come in multiple sizes, too.
1. Gold Accent Mirror | 2. Rattan Rectangular Mirror | 3. Antique Gold Wall Mirror | 4. Cane Rectangular Mirror | 5. Wavy Wall Mirror | 6. Rattan Scallop Mirror
Decorating with Floor Mirrors
I love an oversized (tall and wide) full length mirror, but if nothing else, at least for bedrooms, at minimum, try to have a full length mirror that can hang on a door if there’s no floor space. Along with their obvious functionality, floor mirrors can basically serve as a full sized piece of furniture. When you can, like the other mirrors (and kind of like rugs), I think going as big as you can looks best.
My mom recently ordered a new floor mirror from Wayfair for her bedroom and it is totally on trend and such an incredible value! There are multiple sizes and I love the arch shape — which, again, helps to break up some of the more severe straight lines and corners of her furniture.
Floor Mirror — black frame, 71″ x 32″ (find this mirror and similar mirrors linked on my LTK page HERE)
Here are a few more floor, full length, and tall mirrors I’m loving. Like the others, check each listing for multiple sizes and finishes!
1. Arch Solid Wood Mirror | 2. White-washed Wood Mirror | 3. Baroque Style Mirror | 4. Gold Vintage Style Mirror | 5. Scalloped Rattan Mirror | 6. Rattan Arch Mirror | 7. Scalloped-edge Mirror | 8. Carved Vintage Style Mirror | 9. Intricate Gold Mirror | 10. Vintage Carved Wood Frame Mirror | 11. Wave Design Mirror | 12. Oversized Rectangular Mirror
Tips for Decorating with Mirrors
To recap and to punctuate, here are a few tips for decorating with mirrors…
- In general, the bigger, the better
- Use the shape of mirrors to contrast its surrounding furniture/other furnishings.
- Don’t use mirrors right next to each other.
- Don’t use mirrors too similar to one another in the same sight line.
- Mirrors can make a space look taller and bigger, but if you go too small, it can also make a ceiling look shorter and a wall look smaller.
- Typically, a thin frame looks more modern and a wide frame will look more traditional.
- Mirror frames are a great way to repeat finishes/mix up finishes within a room (if you’re needing to repeat/tie in gold, brass, black, silver, etc.)
- Try to have a mirror in every room and try to have a full length mirror in every bedroom.
- Mirrors also look great stacked in pairs.
Do you decorate with mirrors often or are you now feeling like you should incorporate some more? Do you tend to go for the same shape? Wide or thin mirrors? As always, be sure to subscribe to emails at the bottom of the post so you won’t miss a thing!
