Finding the Right Bathroom Mirror for Your Home
Once upon a time, mirrors were seen as a functional tool for your home, but over the years, the design, technology and purposes of a mirror have undertaken a dramatic transformation – from purely practical, to the focal point of any room. Finding the right mirror for any room of your home is not easy, but finding the right mirror for your bathroom? This is the room where it really counts.
Your bathroom can be a getaway in your home – a place to escape the real world and grab some much-needed moments of relaxation – but it is also often one the busiest rooms in the house. The right bathroom mirror can be the perfect way to create a balance between form and function and make the bathroom your favourite room in your home.
How do you find the right bathroom mirror though? With so many technological and design advances, what are some things you should think about when searching for your bathroom mirror?
This is something Luxe Mirrors are experts at – read on for a guide to all things bathroom mirrors.
Your Style
One of the first things to take into consideration is the aesthetic and design of your bathroom, and to an extent, your whole home. Are you redesigning a brand new bathroom from scratch or looking to refresh the bathroom by replacing an existing mirror? Either way, you want to make sure that it is something that suits both the decor of your home and your personal style. The right bathroom mirror can represent you and make all the difference to the feel of your bathroom.
The Purpose
Of course, the main purpose of a mirror is to see yourself – but when it comes to a bathroom mirror, you can certainly get more bang for your buck, depending on how you use it.
So besides checking your reflection, how else can you use a mirror? Depending on your bathroom set up, your mirror can be a way to enhance any natural light and make the room feel larger and more spacious, or if your bathroom is on the darker or smaller side, the mirror can be the source of light.
Storage space is something that is always scarce in a bathroom, but did you know your mirror can act as storage? Cabinet mirrors and ledge mirrors are two that can help you increase this without compromising on space.
With so many advances in design and technology, mirrors can serve double, triple and even quadruple duty! Let’s have a look at some types of mirrors out there.
Types of Mirrors
Many people won’t be aware of all of the different mirror varieties available – often the main thing we think about is what the mirror is reflecting, rather than the mirror itself – so let’s breakdown some of the most popular mirror types:
Cabinet & Ledge Mirrors
These mirrors could be categorised as being both functional and versatile; whilst serving their initial purpose of providing a reflection, they offer storage solutions in the place where you’re likely to need it the most.
Cabinet mirrors are a popular solution to storage woes as they usually enclose a number of shelves and come in a wide variety of sizes. This is a great way to hide away your bathroom necessities without having to go out of your way to use them. Often found with a frameless finish, this helps in reducing their impact on the overall aesthetic of your bathroom.
A ledge mirror, as the name suggests, is a mirror that has a ledge at the bottom. This ledge can be used in a practical manner, housing your toothbrush holder for example, or be used decoratively as well – either way, it can be a simple option that provides more space in your bathroom.
LED Light Mirrors
An LED light mirror can be a real workhorse for your bathroom – being both the mirror and sometimes the source of light. Besides its enormous practicality, the beauty of an LED light mirror is that LED lighting is very energy efficient and can help reduce those electricity bills.
Some LED light mirrors also have a dimmer switch, which can change the whole feel of your bathroom, and suit whatever purpose you need it to. Most dimmer switches offer a range of lighting from cool bright, to daylight, to warm lighting. This is particularly useful in a space where a bathroom doesn’t have a natural light source.
Mirrors can be back-lit, which is a light fitted on the back of the mirror – this creates an ambient glow around the mirror, enhancing its appearance and making it the focal point of the room – all while being super practical! These types of mirrors were designed with the bathroom in mind, with this aura like glow, the whole feel of the bathroom can be transformed, all without overshadowing anything in the room.
Front-lit Mirrors are also available and are perfect for the bathroom that suffers from a lack of a natural source of light. Front-lit mirrors can compensate well for this lack of light as the lighting runs around the edge of the mirror, spreading the light further and creating a stronger, brighter light, which in turn opens up the space of the bathroom, making it appear larger.
Framed and Frameless
There are a lot of pros for both framed and frameless mirrors – what it really comes down to is your personal preference.
Frameless mirrors are extremely popular, and in some ways a simpler option for your bathroom. They provide a minimalist touch, which can be easier to fit in with your décor and design elements, resulting in a contemporary feel. Frameless mirrors can also appear as if they are never-ending as they don’t have any harsh frames that may cut them off.
A framed mirror is a great way to make a statement and really accentuate any key features of the design and décor of your bathroom. With an almost never-ending list of materials that can be used to make a frame, your framed mirror can be as simple or as intricate as you wish. It is also a great way to show your own personality and flair.
Mirror Shapes
The shape of your mirror is another way to enhance its appearance and increase its practicality. And to make your decision just a little bit harder, you can get just about any shape known to man. Mirror shapes can be broken down into two major categories:
Round Mirrors
Whether a clean full circle, oval, arched or curved, mirrors in this shape family are a great way to add instant appeal and can become the focal point of any bathroom. They also have the ability to create an air of softness, especially when added to a bathroom with sharper edges and finishes. Round mirrors are also great options in circumstances where you may have a unique tile finish or wallpaper that you don’t necessarily want hidden
Square and Rectangular Mirrors
Square and rectangular mirrors have the benefit of being able to provide more coverage with a slightly wider angle. This can aid in creating more light and opening up your bathroom space. Square and rectangular mirrors can also add a nice touch to a bathroom that is full of rounded features, creating a juxtaposition to the rest of the room. They are also somewhat easier to blend with more interior designs and styles as they are a somewhat more traditional shape to work with.
Remember, the other features of your bathroom can be a great guide in deciding the shape you want to work with. If your bathroom has a lot of soft edged rounder features, a mirror with sharper edges can help offset this, or a mirror with curved edges, like round or arched ones can accentuate it.
Mirror Size
There are a few things at play when it comes to selecting the right size for your mirror, proportion and functionality are the two most important factors when working out what size you need – so what do you need to take into consideration to get those right?
The Size of Your Bathroom
The size of your mirror can enhance the size of your space, but if you choose one too large or too small, it can look out of proportion and unbalanced and be somewhat impractical.
Smaller spaces can benefit from mirrors that are functional in more ways than one. Cabinet mirrors and back-lit mirrors are great options for smaller spaces, incorporating storage and lighting options in one.
Larger bathrooms often have more access to light sources, so a larger mirror can enhance this to create a much more spacious area.
When thinking about the size of your bathroom, the ceiling height should always be taken into consideration as the right mirror can enhance this.
Vanity and Sink Size
You should also think about the existing cabinets and sinks – unless you are aiming for a wall to wall appearance, or a purposely oversized mirror, you want your mirror to be in proportion with cabinets and/or vanity. In most instances, a mirror over a vanity will be marginally narrower than the full width of the vanity and will be centred. Make sure you measure, measure, measure!
Wall Space
You need to work with the space that you have. Take into consideration any lighting features that may be in the area and be realistic. Once again, measure the space, and cut out mirror template from paper, this can help you visualise how your mirror make work in your space. It isn’t a decision to be rushed, so take your time and try marking up a few different sizes and styles to know how to work with your space.
Purpose and Function
As touched on earlier, the purpose of your mirror is important for the overall decision, but especially when taking the size into consideration. Besides being a potential place for storage and another lighting source, it also needs to be able to function as a mirror. Make sure you take what it is reflecting into consideration, is it showing anywhere that you don’t want to highlight? Are you capturing all the angles you need? For a bathroom mirror to function at its best, you need to consider your height and of the people who will be using it. A good 30cm above and below your eye-line will usually make it a functioning mirror for most people, but the more height the better, as this can provide more light, angles and really open up that space.
There might be a lot to think about when it comes to selecting the right bathroom mirror for you, but armed with the above information, you are more than equipped to start your journey. A great place to start is with the team at Luxe Mirrors, always available to answer any of your questions, their website is full of incredibly versatile range of mirrors for use in any bathroom.
