From simple and classy to high-tech and ornate, mirrors can make all the difference in your home.

When it comes to home décor, nothing brings on a bout with vertigo like a bad use of mirrors.

If you’ve ever visited an excessively mirrored home, you know the look. It’s like the funhouse at the state fair, only you didn’t have to buy tickets.
If there’s one thing the mercifully outmoded floor-to-ceiling mirror trend of the 1980s taught us, it’s that less is more. “Everyone is going for more of a simple, minimalistic look,” says Craig Weber, mirror and shower department supervisor for Roadrunner Glass Company in Phoenix. “We’re trying to make the mirror an accent, less of a focal point.”

Scott Hunter, owner of the Scottsdale interior design firm Compliments of Arizona, agrees. “Today we use mirrors for what they were really designed for. It has got to be functional and has got to be an accent,” he says.

That’s not to say big, dramatic statements are gone, or that the use of mirrors can’t be playful. It’s just that what’s trendy one day can be tacky the next, so it’s important to listen to the experts when installing mirrors in your home.

Routine Reflections
When Walt Disney’s evil queen chanted, “Mirror, mirror on the wall...” her mystic mirror told her – except for that Snow White business – what she wanted to hear. When considering a mirror in your home, it should reflect what you want it to reflect.

In some cases that’s, well, you. In other uses throughout the home, mirrors simply reflect your taste. A wet bar with a clear glass mirror reflecting bottles and glassware can cast an air of elegance onto what might otherwise be a boring, closet-sized niche.

A downtown loft with mirrors parallel to windows can enlarge cramped quarters. “Mirrors are an affordable way to create the illusion of space,” Weber says. “If the mirror is facing a window, there’s a reflection of what’s outdoors, which makes a room feel bigger and more inviting.”

Other common uses include:

Closets. Three-way closet mirrors are very functional on a daily basis. Tom Plaso, owner of A Touch of Glass in Phoenix, even installs them to conceal home safes. “It looks like a mirror, so you’d never know there was a safe hidden behind it."

Photos courtesy Roadrunner Glass Company, Inc. Dining room mirrors and three-way closet mirrors are in.

Dining rooms. Elegant dining room mirrors above the buffet are in. Ceiling mirrors, which Plaso says “made everything look big and made it easy to cheat in cards,” largely had their heyday in the 1970s and ’80s. Today there is one notable exception: “Formal dining room ceiling mirrors, especially recessed mirrors, are coming back in,” he says.

Exercise rooms. Again, floor-to-ceiling mirrors are out, and a simple band of mirror is in. Weber suggests clear glass mirror mounted just above the electrical outlets and extending up 5 to 6 feet in height.

Display cases or recessed niches. Adding a mirror behind a sculpture or vase can create interest with a 360-degree effect. “One of my customers had a lot of hand-blown glass. Against a wall, you could only see the front side of these beautiful pieces,” Weber says. A custom-made, mirrored cabinet displayed the pieces while adding texture and color to the room.

Innovative Images
If you have the guts, certain mirror applications can reflect your flair for the creative. Reverse painted mirrors (glass painted on the back so a pattern is visible through the mirror) are very in vogue. Plaso also says touches like sandblasted and chiseled edges, reverse lighting and chipped glass mirrors are very popular.

On a grand scale, Hunter has taken a cue from the historic Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. “I like to reflect my chandeliers, so I’ll put a mirror on one wall and one on an opposing wall. The repeat goes on for like 16 to 20 repeats, so I’m creating the illusion of the Hall of Mirrors,” he says. The key is to place the mirrors high enough – just above the top of chair height – so that the mirrors reflect your chandelier and not your guests.

Hunter also has been known to mount an antique or ornate mirror onto a larger mirror. “I use the back mirror almost as a frame and the new mirror I’m mounting on top becomes the subject,” he says. The same technique can be used with artwork, which makes the mounting surface – the mirror – take on the appearance of a frame. “It’s kind of like the old brooch effect on a beautiful dress, only instead of pinning artwork on a dress I’m pinning it on a mirror.”

Mirrors can hide high-tech touches, too. Plaso installs a two-way mirror in bathrooms with a flat-screen TV embedded behind the glass. When the monitor is off, all the customer sees is mirror, just as if you’re on the “bad guy” side of a two-sided mirror in a police questioning room. However, when the TV is on, the customer can watch stock prices or CNN while shaving or applying makeup. The trick creates a vibrant, “floating” screen image on the mirror’s surface.


Tips & Tricks
There are basic ground rules when it comes to mirror size and quality. Mirrors come in 1/8-inch, 3/16-inch and 1/4-inch thickness. While 1/8-inch thickness might suffice for a small, niche placement, Plaso advises a 1/4-inch thickness if you want to see yourself, or for large mirrors where you want to avoid “the funhouse effect.”

With smaller rooms and mirrors, the right molding is vital. A good rule of thumb is not to exceed 3 inches of molding on a mirror that will hang in a smaller space. And the mirror itself should take up no more than two-thirds to three-quarters of the wall you’re placing it on.

Other tips and tricks include:

Height. Mirroring above 8 feet high is not a good idea in most homes. “If you go past 8 feet, you won’t see anything but ceiling,” Plaso says.

Colors. While mirrors are available in grey, black, bronze or even peach, rose and amber tones, colored mirrors are mostly out. The exceptions: “Bronze is coming back as an accent to earth tones,” Weber says. And in some rooms, where walls and linens are white for example, a grey mirror can add reflective quality without being overpowering.

Budget. Mirror installers charge by the square foot, with prices starting at about $8 a foot installed. Adding lights, outlets or plumbing through the mirror can up your cost to about $15 per square foot, depending on how fancy you get. Also, keep in mind that beveled or sandblasted edges will cost extra and are generally charged by the inch.

Reflection. As simple as this sounds, consider what the mirror will be facing. A window or elegant piece of artwork can create a wonderful ambiance, while the reflection of a dusty bookcase can create double trouble.

Mirror Mishaps
Avoiding a few other pitfalls can have you well on your way to reflective bliss. When mirroring an exercise room or powder room, avoid mirrors on facing walls.

Think twice about mirroring behind a stove or other hot surface because the stove’s heat can cause a mirror to shatter.

If you’re building a home and are just dying to install that single sheet of 10-by-7-foot mirror, remember that once all your walls and doors are in, the mirror may be too big to replace if it ever shatters.