Mirrors bathroom — Placed to reflect a row of smaller mirrors to make the space feel larger

Inside…

Mirrors open a small space and make a room feel brighter. There are, however, a few basic rules you need to consider before you get out the hammer or the drill.

It’s as easy as a, b, c… there are just a few simple guidelines you have to remember!

a) What will your mirror be reflecting? If it’s something that doesn’t please the eye, then think about placing it on another wall.
b) Style of mirror – is it a feature ie is the frame important? Or do you simply want something to make the space feel bigger, so a frameless mirror would actually be better.
c) Horizontal, vertical … a collection of small mirrors? Choices, choices. Think about what you are trying to achieve. Horizontal hanging tends to make the space feel wider, vertical hanging will make it feel taller. So if you have very high ceilings consider placing the mirror horizontally to play down the height and play up the width, bringing things back into perspective a little.

Bedroom mirror — Here the frame itself is what is important. The reflection is rather plain so the texture and shape is the focal point.

Mirror vanity — Think about what you place in front of your mirror. Make it simple but interesting.

Mirror sitting room — The large paper light shade looks fabulous at night, when reflected in this large horizontal mirror.

Mirrored wardrobes can really make a small room feel spacious. However, remember that whatever it reflects should be uncluttered, or it will be like putting all that clutter under a magnifying glass! It’s also not good Feng shui to be able to see yourself whilst lying in bed. There are two options – at night stack the spare comforter, pillows etc at the foot of the bed OR place some crystals at the foot to help diffuse the effect of any negative energy.

Let’s take it outside…

Logs and mirrors (935x638) — Here mirrors are used to a) make the space look larger and b) hide an oil tank

Logs and mirrors (2) — Same principle; consider what the mirror will be reflecting

Admire the view — Move pots around so that the mirror will pick them up from different angles and make the garden/patio/courtyard feel as if it’s full of plants!

And have some fun! Buy an inexpensive mirror, paint it a fun colour. It might only last a year or two, longer if you sand and re-paint the frame and also ‘seal’ the back with mastic so the water can’t seep in.

Experiment – sizes, shapes, frames, no frames… inside AND out!

If you have any tips you’d like to share, please post them here as a comment or email me at lbhalton@googlemail.com.

If storage is your issue, pop over to Loveahappyending Lifestyle and read my article on storage…

http://www.loveahappyending.com/design-matters-but-so-does-size/

And find all my newsletters here:

https://linnbhalton.co.uk/livin-lovin-life-101-newsletters/