Mirrors

Choosing a mirror

A mirror is the cheapest way to make a room bigger and brighter, and the right one is as much a piece of furniture as a picture. A large floor mirror leaning against a bedroom wall, an arch mirror over a hall table, a round mirror above a buffet: each does a different job, so start with where it will go and what it should reflect.

Floor mirrors and leaner mirrors

A large floor mirror, 160 to 200 cm tall, is the full-length mirror a bedroom or dressing area needs, and leaning it against the wall rather than hanging it makes it a feature and saves drilling. Lean it at a slight angle, on a non-slip pad, and anchor the top to the wall if there are children in the house. A leaner mirror in a living room or hallway reflects the window and doubles the light; a tall mirror beside a front door is the last check on the way out. Black metal frames suit a modern room, timber frames warm up a bedroom, and a slim gold frame adds glamour.

Wall mirrors: arch, round, oval or rectangular

An arch mirror softens a square room and is the classic shape above a console or a bedhead; it reads as a window. A round mirror balances the straight lines of a buffet, a vanity or a mantel and is the easiest shape to place; choose a diameter around two-thirds the width of the piece beneath it. Oval mirrors suit a narrow wall or a hallway. Rectangular and window-pane mirrors, with their divided panes, bring a Hamptons or industrial note. A scalloped, pebble or wavy mirror is a decorative wall mirror first and a mirror second, the piece that makes a powder room or an entry memorable.

Size and placement

Hang a wall mirror with its centre at about eye level, 150 to 160 cm from the floor, and slightly narrower than the furniture below it. Above a console or buffet, leave 15 to 25 cm between the surface and the bottom of the frame. Position a mirror to reflect something worth doubling: a window, a garden, a piece of art or a pendant light, rather than a blank wall or the television. In a hallway, a mirror on the long wall makes the space feel wider; opposite a window, it brings daylight to the darkest part of the house.

Frames: gold, black, timber or iron

A gold or brass mirror warms a room and pairs with velvet, marble and warm timbers. A black mirror frame sharpens a pale room and matches black-framed windows and lamps. Timber-framed mirrors, in oak, walnut and ash, suit a bedroom with a timber bed or a coastal living room. Iron and metal mirrors are the slimmest and the most architectural. Antique and aged finishes soften a new house. Match the frame to one other metal or timber in the room and the mirror will look like it has always been there.

Finishing the room

A mirror over a console table with a table lamp beside it furnishes a hallway; a round mirror above a buffet finishes a dining room; a floor mirror beside a dressing table or a bed completes a bedroom.

See them in a Perth showroom

The Furniture Gallery is WA owned and family run, with showrooms across Perth and regional WA. See the frames and finishes in natural light, check the sizes against the furniture on the floor, and ask an interior stylist where a mirror will work hardest in your home. When you have chosen, add the mirror to your cart and enter your postcode for a delivery price; our white-glove delivery team will unpack it and take the packaging away.