Mirrors can be used throughout the home for functionality and decoration. They can reflect a beautiful view and lighten up a dark room. Oversized leaning mirrors and strategically-placed hanging mirrors are common in living rooms and bedrooms, but what about more unconventional uses? Here are a few ideas for decorating with mirrors in unique ways.
Use Them in the Kitchen
Aside from the living room, families spend most of their time in the kitchen. After all, it’s the heart of the home. There are ways that you integrate mirrors into the decor scheme to bounce light around the room or give your kitchen a modern touch.
- Mirrored cabinets. This sounds like it would be jarring to see yourself every time you go in the kitchen, but the whole cabinet is not a mirror. Many kitchen cabinets have inlaid glass in the paneling for a luxury look. Vintage mirror glass could be used in place of glass inlays for a rustic look or mirrors with filigree woodwork overlays for a more traditional luxury style.
- Mirrored countertops or backsplash. For a clean modern look, mirrored countertops are a great option, especially if the cabinetry is a contrasting darker color. For a more subtle look, try doing mirrored backsplash panels. Concrete countertops with mirror and glass flecks are another way to infuse the kitchen with subtle light.
Mirrored Furniture
Mirrored furniture is a hot trend right now. It can lend your living room or bedroom a vintage glamour look or a futuristic appearance depending on the piece you choose. Mirrored dressers, vanities, and credenzas with clean geometric lines will look very modern. If you prefer old world glamour, opt for traditional shapes, vintage glass, and decorative overlays.
Mirrored Doors
Put a spin on French doors and give them a new look by replacing glass panels with mirrored panels. Paneled closet or wardrobe doors could be updated with mirrors, adding glamour and functionality.
Creative, Functional Mirrors
Mirrors can be used as a shadowbox or built into a recessed wall to conceal items behind them. For example, you could use a two-way vanity mirror in the bathroom to conceal a flat-panel television. When the television is off, the mirror is simply a mirror. When it’s on, you can watch TV from the bathtub! Shadowboxes like this could be used anywhere in the house — a TV in the kitchen for cooking, a concealed TV in a small bedroom — the possibilities are endless.
Mirror Accent Wall
This might give you flashbacks of the mirrored walls from the 1980’s or dance studios, but modern applications of mirrored walls have a contemporary, luxurious look to them. Horizontal panels with alternating light wood and mirrors give the room a retro, postmodern feel. Textured mirror pieces in a quilted or brick pattern look stunning and modern in a bedroom or bathroom.
Finally, vintage mirror glass on recessed walls coupled with luxurious fabrics will give your living room old-world charm.
Think creatively when using mirrors to decorate your house. Anywhere you would like to add interest or reflect some light, a mirror is a great choice. Use them as accents or a statement piece. Mix textures of decor near the mirror for even more interest. Just make sure to use them in a way that won’t let them break easily. Most importantly, keep the mirrors clean!
