How To Decorate With Mirrors

Decorating with mirrors helps maximize a home's style, adding natural light, artistic touches and practicality to any room.

Interior designers share their favorite mirror decorating tips, which range from classic to untraditional.

Windows - For dining areas that lack windows, consider placing a large round mirror in an area that reflects overhead lighting. This instantly creates additional light and depth. For dining areas that highlight unique, artistic designs, consider placing mirrors in areas to reflect artwork, as this helps add the illusion of more eye-popping colors.

Focal Point - For rooms that focus on embracing minimalistic styles, mirrored art creates an instant focal point that also reflects additional light, which casts an open glow that embraces contemporary decor.

Expansion - Mirrors help visually expand spaces. Consider placing wall mirrors in a small breakfast nook to maximize reflections, add dimension, brighten areas and create luminosity.

Drama - Placing oversized framed mirrors directly on floors add instant depth to living rooms, bedrooms or hallways.

Multiples - Hanging multiple mirrors of the same design above a living room couch is visually pleasing. It mimics the effect of multiple art groupings. Mirrors should be proportionate to furniture, wall space and rooms. Avoid using small mirrors in oversized rooms and large mirrors in small rooms.

Decorative - Mirrors add the perfect decorative touch to bedrooms. Consider hanging two matching rectangular mirrors above a bed for an instant focal point.

Entryways - While designers agree that mirrors have a place in rooms throughout homes, entryways are an especially important area to address. By nature, entries lack natural light. This provides the perfect opportunity to embrace reflective natural lighting and highlight collective artwork.

Reflections - For homes that feature water, territorial or garden views, strategic placement of mirrors offers opportunities for maximum view exposure. Bedrooms also benefit from mirrors, giving small spaces the illusion of depth. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors are popular choices for bedrooms with minimal square footage.

Dimension - Creating visual dimension adds warmth and light to homes. Place mirrors in areas where their impact is noticed, such as dining areas or dark living rooms.

Collections - Same-shape mirrors in different sizes can be strategically placed on walls to create a unique focal point. For example, circle mirrors can be placed to create a whimsical bubble-like effect, giving the appearance they are floating on walls. This also allows homeowners the opportunity to showcase unique collections and highlight different styles of mirrors.