Think of all the mirrors you used at home or at your parent’s house while you were growing up. Whether it’s a small mirror that opens up a medicine cabinet or a large mirror that covers an entire wall, there’s definitely a mirror in the bathroom.
Do you have a wall mirror in your room? Are there decorative mirrors hanging in the hallway? Is there a mirror by the door so mom can quickly check her makeup when she leaves the house in the morning?
Mirrors aren’t just great for checking your makeup or making sure the outfit you’ve chosen for the day is a good fit. Sure, they’re great for these uses—and most people can’t live without them—but they can also make wonderful decorative additions to any room in your home.
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors in guest rooms are great for showing your visitors a little extra hospitality as they check in on themselves before heading downstairs for breakfast. A series of small mirrors can be placed in a pattern to reflect light and make a room appear brighter and larger. A beautifully framed mirror in a living room or hallway can be as dramatic and elegant as a painting.
In this article, we’ll take you through the different types of mirrors, how to use them, and where you might want to install them. We’ll discuss shapes and sizes that are suitable for different rooms. We’ll discuss styles and frame materials. We’ll even give you some tips on when to install mirrors yourself when to hire a professional, and what to look out for when ordering mirrors online.
1. What are the Different Types of Mirrors?
Let us begin by guiding you through everything you need to know about buying and installing images. First, we’ll discuss five basic types of mirrors you might want to consider for different rooms in your home.
1) Wall Mirror
A wall mirror is any mirror that is mounted on a wall. It can be a large rectangular mirror without a frame, or an oval or heart-shaped mirror with an ornate filigree frame.
2) Decorative Mirror
Decorative mirrors are usually small wall mirrors. They can be shaped into silhouettes of birds, silhouettes of flowers, or other fun and beautiful shapes. They can be small square mirrors that you can arrange in a pattern so that everything they reflect looks like a mosaic.
Some decorative mirrors are simple in shape but ornately framed to add style to a room. Basically, if it’s beautiful and can hang on the wall, it might be considered a decorative mirror.
3) Bathroom Mirror
As a bathroom mirror, you can use almost any kind of wall mirror. If you want to give your bathroom a modern feel, you can arrange a rectangular grid consisting of small decorative mirrors placed closely together. You can use a large rectangular mirror without a frame, or you can opt for a more decorative bathroom mirror to add a unique touch to your bathroom.
More and more people are opting for more interesting mirrors for their bathrooms. Two old standards in bathrooms are rapidly disappearing. A small mirror that hides a medicine cabinet used to be the norm, but at least in most medium- and large-sized bathrooms, it’s been replaced by a mirror that spans the width of the bathroom counter, often almost the size of a wall.
Larger mirrors can be a good replacement for those small medicine cabinets, but they don’t add much style to the room. In a half-sized mirror, you can see yourself however you want, which means the mirror itself can be a more interesting shape. It also leaves room for more interesting wall decorations.
4) Large Mirror
If you have a small room with lots of natural light, a large mirror on one wall can add depth to the room and make it appear more spacious. Large mirrors are also great for bathrooms and bedrooms, especially when you want to get an overview of what you’re wearing for the day.
The right large mirror can create ambiance and a larger, airier feel in a room. A picture frame can be a welcome addition to a room’s design if it complements the other furniture and accessories in the room.
5) Floor Mirror
A floor-standing mirror is a full-length mirror whose frame can stand up without support. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors can often be tilted, which can create longer, more intriguing reflections than wall mirrors. Don’t you want to go to work feeling tall and slim every morning?
People often opt for floor mirrors because they have a certain classic look. You can find an oval mirror in a brass frame and stand, or opt for a wooden rectangular frame. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors are also versatile. You can move the mirror from room to room depending on who wants to use it, if you are renovating, or if you just want to move the mirror from room to room for your own reasons.
2. The Shape of Your Mirror
A large, flat mirror that covers half or more of the bathroom wall seems to be the best choice because it creates a great reflective effect. But when you look in the mirror, do you really need to see all the tubs, laundry baskets, and everything else in your room? From a design standpoint, a slightly smaller, more interestingly shaped mirror might be the better decision.
Large oval mirrors with interesting frames are becoming more and more popular as bathroom mirrors, as one of them can reflect you, your clothes, and everything else you need to see, and look more interesting than a regular rectangle with no frame at all.
When choosing a mirror, there are usually a variety of shapes to choose from, no matter what kind of mirror it is. Most floor-to-ceiling mirrors are oval or rectangular, but even these sometimes have options that you might not have thought of. Before you settle for a boring rectangle without a frame, consider your interior design tastes and the style you’ve cultivated in each room of your home.
3. Frame Materials and Finishes
If you decide to buy a mirror that really makes a statement, you can choose from a variety of frames made of different materials and finishes. Wood, aluminum, glass, bronze, and copper are among them.
As with any decor or accessory, you add to a room when choosing a framed mirror you need to consider the style of the room in which you will place it. Does the rest of the room’s decor have a warm dark wood accent tone? A mirror with a brushed aluminum frame might look a little out of place, but one with an aged bronze or dark wood frame might look just right.
If your bathroom has a very modern style, you might want to consider a glass-framed mirror. Opaque white or black glass makes for a beautiful mirror frame that also matches well with your modern theme.
In addition to the material of the frame, you also need to consider its finish. The frosted glass frame gives the mirror an understated look without being too bland. You can choose a wood frame with a high-gloss finish, but again, you’ll want to make sure it matches the furniture and other accessories in the room you’ll place it in.
4. What are Beveled and Unbeveled Mirrors?
The beveled mirror has non-perpendicular cuts along the edges for added style. Think of the bevels on the mirror as wall molding, if the walls were actually cut into these shapes instead of adding the molding as a separate piece to the corners of the walls and ceiling.
Whether to chamfer or not bevel is entirely up to you and your taste. Some people like a little more texture on the edge of the mirror next to the frame. Others prefer the mirror to be flat, allowing the frame to stand out more.
If you decide you want a decorative mirror without a frame, a beveled mirror might be a good choice. It will add a little detail to the shape of the mirror while keeping it minimal and simple.
5. Installation Precautions
Now that you have some knowledge of the different types of mirrors, frames, and beveled mirrors, you have enough information to start finding the perfect mirror for your purposes. Once you’ve found it, you’ll need to consider a few factors that affect your installation. Here’s what you need to know when deciding where to mount your mirror and whether to install it yourself or hire a professional to hang it for you.
If you decide to install the mirror yourself, be sure to research the mirror manufacturer’s recommended glues, caulks, and/or hardware for installation. If you follow the manufacturer’s instructions closely, you’re less likely to see your mirror fall off the wall and shatter. If it does fall off, you’ll be more likely to have the manufacturer replace the mirror or get your money back.
6. Mirror Weight
If you have several small decorative mirrors around your living room, you can use mirror mastic or another heavy-duty glue to glue them into place. You don’t have to worry about the weight of the mirror pulling it off the wall.
However, if you are going to hang a larger mirror, you should know that it can get quite heavy. If you’re hanging it on a nail or screw, you’ll need to find the studs in the wall, some people can do this by tapping on the wall and listening for the difference in sound. You can use a stud finder if you cannot hear the difference in sound or are uncertain. You need to make sure you’re putting the nails or screws into the studs, not just into the drywall. Otherwise, your mirror is more likely to be pulled from the wall, dropped, and shattered.
If any of this information makes you very nervous about installing a mirror, you may want to go ahead and call a professional. If you bought your mirror locally, you can ask the person who sold it to you who they recommend for installation. They have a vested interest in your satisfaction, so they are likely to recommend the best contractor for the job.
7. Shipping and Handling Issues
Weight isn’t just a factor for installation either. If you’re buying a large mirror online, you should know its weight and the shipping and handling charges the seller will charge. You should also check their return policy for any provisions. If they can’t guarantee that the mirror will arrive in your hands in perfect condition, you should not buy a mirror from them.
If their return policy is unclear, but the price is too high to refuse, you might want to ask about purchasing shipping insurance. That way, if anything happens on the way to you and you can’t return the mirror, you’ll still be covered.
Now you have the basic tools you need to choose the right type of mirror for your needs. You can beautify a boring room or add the illusion of more space. You can check out your entire outfit in one piece of decor that will grace any room. If you choose the right mirror for your home, it will make a great addition. Have fun selecting and installing your new mirror!
8. What are Some Tips for Cleaning Mirrors?
You’ve probably seen plenty of commercials and advertisements for products that claim to keep glass and mirrors clean and streak-free. You might even have purchased some of these products. There are special cleaners, special cleaning cloths, and special treatments that can prevent mirrors from getting dirty in the first place. If you’ve tried them, you know that most of them don’t work as advertised.
But luckily, there is an easier and better way. You only need a few things for a clean, streak-free mirror. You’ll need a soft cloth, some old newspapers, a bucket, and white vinegar.