Tip Tuesday: Decorative Bathroom Mirrors

Unless you've designed or have plans to replace the hardware, tile, flooring, and fixtures in your bathroom, homeowners are left with a simple few elements to personalize this space. Replacing your standard contractor lighting is one relatively cheap and effective approach. Bath textiles such as towels, shower curtains, and window treatments are also cost-effective ways to add some boldness to a bathroom...but these don't have to be your only options.

One option I often ask clients to consider is replacing their standard frameless mirror with a decorative mirror. Bathrooms might be utilitarian in their purpose, but it doesn't mean they can't have some elements of artistry and weight as well.

It is true that textiles are simple and offer a huge range of choices and styles, but what if you have a shower stall with a glass door or you don't want to bring that much attention to a tub area? Why not pull the focus away from these elements and over to the more intimate space of your vanity?

Here's a few tips or ideas for adding a decorative mirror to your bathroom, but be sure to check back tomorrow when I highlight a design studio that specializes in beautiful, artistic decorative mirrors.

Tips:

1. Shape matters
Rectangular mirrors will fill the space fully and give a clean, tight, classic appearance to your vanity. In terms of use, they are also the most economical in the square inches they provide. Circular mirrors hang on the wall like a piece of art and require a more surrounding space to breathe. They offer less square inches but make a bold, contemporary statement to the room. Oval shapes give a soft effect, feel light, and regal. They're a great choice if you want more square inches than a circular mirror but want to soften the hard lines of the rest of the room. Choose a shape that makes the most sense for the look you want to achieve and the space available.

2. Go DIY
One super easy solution for this space is to go to a local framing store and choose from one of their custom wood frames. With the range of stains and finishes (including a nice shiny lacquer, yeah!) you have a wide variety of options to fit your existing bathroom motif.
Call a glass dealer in your area to have the mirror made for the frame and you have a great, custom mirror for less than a few hundred dollars.

Another DIY option is to hit the flea market or yard sales to find an older frame you can reuse. Just remove the old artwork, add a mirror and any additional hardware needed for support.

3. Buy the right size
If you want the mirror to have some punch, it needs space on the wall to breathe. Allow ample, and preferably equal room around the mirror edges if the mirror is near side walls. If the mirror hugs the vanity and vanity light too tight but leaves too much space around the mirror sides, it will feel cramped and forced. Remember, you're trying to bring the focal point to the mirror itself, so give it some room to pop.

4. Simple design ideas

• If you have a small bathroom, choose a shower curtain to match or coordinate with the color of your wall paint. This will de-emphasize the space around the tub which will allow you to really make a statement with a unique mirror (especially if the mirror frame is a punchy color).
• Think about taking the mirror all the way up to the ceiling. Coupled with a unique vanity light, this can be a very dramatic approach that adds some depth and height to the room. It will require some custom cutting and drilling to accommodate your vanity light, but with some assistance, this is a super chic look.
• For long, double sink vanity mirrors, consider mounting two uniquely shaped mirrors above each sink with a sconce or other vertical wall element in between. This will help break up the long stretch of the vanity top and bring vertical focus/alignment to the vanity light, mirror, sink, and hardware.