You probably look in a mirror every day to do ordinary things like brushing your teeth, doing your hair and making sure your outfit looks good. But mirrors can offer so much more than this.

Mirrors can make your room appear larger, reflect light, create a warm and welcoming space and add personality.

Shaping your space with mirrors

Shape gives you flexibility in a room. You can work with existing features to highlight them. Or you can create a focal point that draws people to them.
For example, long wide mirrors will highlight width and draw your attention across the room. Whilst tall mirrors will accentuate height and draw your gaze upwards.

A square or rectangle mirror will give your room an orderly and restrained appearance. Whilst a round or curved mirror will give your room a softer, cheerful look.

You can also use unusual shapes like diamonds or stars to create a focal point or create shapes by hanging several mirrors together.

Why mirror size is important

The size of your mirror will influence what you want to achieve within your space. So, it’s important to ask yourself, what is the size of the wall you are putting it on and what is its purpose?  Is it for practical purposes, is it for background ambience and reflecting light or is to be a major focal point?

A single small mirror on a large wall will look lost. To create a balanced look, think about the size of your mirror relative to that of your wall. If you want your mirror to be part of the background to make your room look larger, choose one that is oversized and complements the wall. If you want to highlight interesting objects use smaller proportioned mirrors. If you want your mirror to be​ a focal point in your room, make sure it is big enough to stand out.

To frame or not to frame your mirror

Again, this will depend on what you’re trying to achieve within your space. If your aim is to make your mirror the focal point, then you might like to add a frame to it. If on the other hand, you want your mirror to become part of the background don’t give it a frame which will draw attention to it.

Tell us about your mirrors

How do you like to use mirrors if your home? What has worked for or against you? Tell us in the comments below.