We’ve finally started tackling the “we’ll-just-put-this-here-for-now” items that accumulate after a move. After more than a year and a half of living here, we decided it was time to replace the tiny mirror that we’d propped above the fireplace with a single finishing nail the first week we moved in. It was comically small and no longer suited the space.
We’d always planned to upgrade it, but other projects—kitchen updates, bedroom and bathroom tweaks, and the deck—kept taking priority. We wanted something larger to:
- reflect more light
- make that cozy corner feel larger and more defined
- bring some of the cork floor’s warm wood tones up onto the wall
After casually hunting at thrift stores and local shops for a while, I went rogue one afternoon while John was working on the deck and Clara was napping. I tiptoed into the guest room and pulled a large mirror we’d leaned over a dresser about a year earlier as a test.
I heaved that giant mirror into the kitchen, climbed onto a chair, and propped it on the mantel to evaluate the size and color. The angle at first wasn’t ideal—the outlet placement made it reflect the ceiling—yet the frame’s tone and scale were instantly promising. I went back to my work and soon after John walked in, took one look, and said, “Let’s hang it.”
I celebrated a little—partly because big aesthetic changes don’t always thrill him right away and partly to mark that this would turn into a heavier labor project. Thankfully he was on board.
We used four heavy-duty 2.5″ screws: two driven straight into studs for maximum support and two secured with heavy anchors to ensure the mirror hung level, since the studs were unevenly spaced. Before hanging, we moved the metal hanging brackets from their original vertical position to a horizontal layout and strung heavy-duty picture wire between them so the mirror could be lifted onto the four screw heads.
The back of the frame looked like a craft project—lots of duct tape from the piece’s yard-sale days—but it’s stable and secure. This mirror was a $5 find a few years ago, and despite its taped-up backing, it’s solid.
We reused one of the original screws and relocated the other hardware, then added the sturdy hanging wire (not the flimsy kind) so everything would catch cleanly on the screws in the wall.
Yes, the back still looks ridiculous—plenty of duct tape—but it’s functionally fine.
The process—measuring, moving the hardware, and driving in the screws—took about twenty minutes. Using a single wire that slips over multiple screw heads makes getting heavy pieces level much faster than wrestling with multiple picture hooks.
The impact of the larger mirror is dramatic. It bounces significantly more light around the room, helps the space read larger and airier, and brings the cork floor’s warm tones up into the visual field. I’m considering darkening the frame slightly with a mocha stain so it blends even more seamlessly with the floor, but even unaltered it’s a massive improvement.
From across the room the added height balances taller elements like the pantry and the tile that reaches up to the ceiling on our shelving wall. It becomes a strong focal point visible from the front door.
While working on the fireplace area, we also grabbed another inexpensive rug for the cooking zone—an experiment first, then an order when we decided it worked fine with the space around the stove and sink.
I styled the mantel with a few thrifted pieces and layered items that are easy to swap when the mood strikes. The neutral frame makes the display versatile, which I love.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison that shows how much more presence the new mirror gives the fireplace wall.
John says this side of the kitchen now feels like “one of those homes in the Fan,” referring to classic downtown houses with tall ceilings and strong architectural details. For me, the mirror simply reflects more light, enlarges the look of the room, and anchors the space as a focal point—all with an under-an-hour change using something we already owned. Bonus: we scored the mirror at a yard sale back in 2008 for five bucks, which makes the upgrade feel even sweeter.
We’ll make a few more tweaks to this zone over time, so we’ll share updates as they happen. In the meantime—have you swapped mirrors between rooms lately? Any toddler photo-bombs or stealth redecorating sessions while your little one naps?