Today, a mirror is no longer just an essential element of every home. Contrary to appearances, it doesn't have to be just a basic tool for managing your appearance – for morning shaving, styling your hair, or applying makeup, in the case of women.
If that were the case, a place faithfully reflecting our image would only be welcome in the bathroom or on a women's dressing table. However, mirrors can be seen throughout homes. And contrary to appearances – they serve more functions than just mimicking every movement and faithfully reflecting faces!
Beyond the quick check of our appearance, mirrors play a significant role in space management in every home. The main advantage of mirrors is their optical enlargement of the space. Just as light colors create the impression that a room is larger – unlike dark colors – mirrors also help achieve this illusion. Especially large ones, which can reflect a significant part of the room, effectively increasing its perceived size – sometimes even by 100 percent – of course, only optically. But that’s not all. As is well known, mirrors reflect light, so installed in the right spot, a mirror will make the room pleasantly brighter. And last but not least – as the English say – the advantage mentioned last but not least, is appearance. Mirrors, especially those with beautiful frames, can greatly diversify the interior of a room.
Where to hang an old mirror? Classic never goes out of style
Modern mirrors with simple frames or even without them are not very elaborate, relying rather on dull – but functional and practical – simplicity. While they suit some interiors, they certainly won’t match every style. Despite advances in technology, and thus architectural trends and interior design methods, vintage mirrors, mirrors from a bygone era framed in decorative frames, remain fashionable. However, it’s not enough to just acquire such ornate mirrors, bought in a specialized store or at a flea market with antiques. It’s worth knowing where to place them in the home – so that they harmonize perfectly with the entire interior. A potential advantage can easily turn into a flaw, so it’s important to pay attention to this aspect.
Much easier is the task of placing a vintage mirror in the home for those whose living space largely reflects a similar style. But that doesn’t mean it disqualifies interiors with a more modern look or any other. Everything doesn’t always have to match perfectly. Symmetry is one way, but contrast and mixing styles can often look attractive too. There’s no way a house wouldn’t have at least a piece of wall that wouldn’t suit a vintage-style mirror.
Vintage mirror – a good impression from the very threshold
One of the best places to hang such a mirror is near the entrance door. The first impression is the most important. It certainly won’t hurt to illuminate guests with the reflected glow from the mirror, which in antique style will attract even more attention and create a space for compliments for its owner right from the threshold. And that’s just the hallway!
Later, things get more complicated. But that doesn’t mean it will be more difficult. If we have empty walls in the staircase, it’s a shame that they are still bare.
On the other hand, it might even be better, because it’s the perfect place to hang a vintage mirror! Usually – due to the height – staircase walls offer more space, which only means more possibilities. A mirror placed near the steps can diversify an empty and depressingly high staircase wall, and also create one of the last check points for our appearance before leaving the house. For owners of multiple vintage-style mirrors – especially smaller or assorted sizes – staircases are the perfect place to hang them all! A gallery of mirrors can be a great idea for utilizing a large, empty, shining space.
Large vintage mirror – cover an empty corner and make the room look bigger
What to do with a large mirror from a bygone era? Leaning it against the middle of the wall is probably not an option. However, you can give yourself a chance to get rid of sad childhood memories and place such a large mirror in the corner. Then, you’ll never walk into that corner again, and the mirror will take the punishment for us. But seriously – a large mirror can beautifully utilize an empty corner of a room, if such exists. Especially if that corner is not surrounded by furniture and simply appears empty. With a large mirror panel, you can hide an awkward void and reflect a more attractive part of the room.
It’s worth noting that a beautifully decorated and carefully crafted frame of an old mirror can be, in its own way, a work of art. If you have paintings at home, it’s worth adding a mirror to such a gallery. This way, you will leverage several advantages of the mirror at once – its visual appeal, brightening the room, creating an illusion of more space, and giving the paintings company. Moreover, looking at a mirror placed this way, you might feel like you look… like from a picture.
