The other day, Oliver said, “I think we have too many mirrors, mum.” I swiftly shot my finger into the air and cried, “NEVER!!”
I’ve mentioned before that we live in a pre-war Victorian row house, which is characteristically long, narrow, and dark in the middle section – most of the windows are in the front of the house, and in the back, but there aren’t many others. I’d love to install a skylight at the top of our stairs, but that’s a project for sometime down the road. (Down the very, very, super-long road.)
So instead, this is where the trick of using mirrors can come into play. They reflect the light, which can help a room look bigger and brighter, and that’s useful in a long and narrow house. I hung one on a wall with some pictures I recently, in part to break up the grid of symmetry, but it helps the hallway feel less claustrophobic – especially with so many dark wood frames on the wall.
The other cool part is what is shows in the reflection as you pass by…
Oh, HAI Sean Penn!!
Back before we had the house painted, I had a large mirror hanging on the wall at the top of our stairs. It was a good place to have one, but what I really wanted was a HUGE mirror there – one that almost looked like a doorway. Mirrors in the kind of size I was considering generally run in the several hundreds to thousands kind of dollars – dollars I do not have for fancy-pants mirrors. Of course, this is why I love the place that rhymes with Sinners so much. And when it comes to scouting massive mirrors, patience is a virtue, my darlings. And a few weeks ago? I made patience my bitch.
You know last year I bought this beauty for our bedroom, so I knew something would eventually show up. And show up she did…
BOOM!
She’s about four feet wide and over seven-and-a-half feet tall.
I must say, this mirror is a wee bit more ornate that I might normally opt for, but not in a way that offends me – plus, it’s right for the style of the house. We can add lots of modern touches around it, which work well together. Besides, mirrors of this size don’t show up at this price very often, so if the glass is free from blemishes, and the frame is solid? I say strike while the iron is hot.
It certainly does bounce some light around – especially reflecting the shiny whiteness of our dressing room doors – but what I hadn’t anticipated was how by reflecting the hardwood, it doubles the size of the landing and the hallway, which is truly excellent. It feels soooo much bigger than I thought it would! (Of course it also helps that we don’t keep all our shoes there anymore…)
Not bad for $170, I reckon.
My eyes are still peeled for a large mirror with the right kind or frame for the children’s bedroom – something not too ornate, not too dark, not too feminine, not too mature… stay tuned!!
We borrowed a friend’s minivan and took some seats out in order to make it fit. Topped up their gas tank as thanks. TOTALLY worth it!!
LOVES!! That’s HUGE! in so many ways 😉 now how did you get that baby home?
IKNOWRIGHT? Man, that was a freaking steal… and it DOES look kinda like another doorway. Another item on a long list of wishes I can strike out as DONE!
$170 – are you freaking kidding me? It’s AMAZEBALLS. Looks so perfect.