After we scored a gigantic mirror (seriously — it’s huge) for $5 at a local garage sale, we realized it was time to talk about the real powers mirrors bring to a room. Short of adding a new window, installing a French door, or building an addition, mirrors are the most effective way to visually enlarge a space and multiply natural light. An airy, bright room ranks alongside hardwood floors or a fireplace on most home wish lists, and it can even help a house sell faster and for a better price. So why not start using mirrors to their full potential?
That said, you can’t just scatter mirrors randomly around your home. There’s a strategy to it: reflect the room’s assets, not its flaws. For example, a mirror placed above a sofa that simply reflects a large, dark TV will only double that heavy, dark visual and can make the room feel more cramped. The three best things to mirror are: an attractive light fixture, a window, or delicate, light-colored wall art. Reflecting a light fixture can be as simple as hanging a mirror at dining-room height opposite a chandelier to bounce more light, or positioning a mirror behind a table lamp. For instance, two matching mirrors behind bedside lamps can dramatically increase sparkle and ambiance. But enough talk—on to the photos.
We hit the mirror jackpot in the guest bedroom (pretty much by accident) when we propped this massive mirror on the dresser. From the doorway, it reflects a large picture window that looks out onto the backyard, so the mirror effectively becomes an extra window, bringing both light and a lovely green view into the room.
That’s not all. When you stand across the room, the mirror also picks up the smaller window above the bed, so it feels like we’ve added two windows to a room that already had two. The effect is almost as if there’s a window on every wall.
The sensation of increased space is particularly strong when mirrors reflect windows, because the scene outside provides depth and distance. By duplicating that depth, a mirror makes a room feel significantly more expansive. Put simply, the guest bedroom felt much bigger almost immediately after adding the mirror.
What about you? Have you tried using mirrors to change the look and feel of a room? Any tips, tricks, or striking before-and-after examples? We’d love to see and hear your mirror successes.