Bedroom Mirrors

Wall mirrors, floor mirrors and full length dressing mirrors

Three formats, three jobs. A full length mirror is the one you check an outfit in, and it either hangs on the wall, leans against it or stands on its own feet. A wall mirror is the accent piece that goes above a dresser, a vanity or a chest, and it is chosen as much for the frame as for the glass. A cheval or floor standing mirror sits in a frame with a tilting pivot, so you can angle it down toward you, which is the classic dressing mirror. Several models here are built to work either hung or leaning, and the listing says which options a given mirror supports.

Shapes. Arched mirrors are the current default for a reason: the curve softens a wall of straight lines and works over almost any furniture. Round mirrors read lighter and suit a space where you want no visual edges at all. Oval is the traditional cheval shape. Rectangular gives you the most reflected height per inch of wall, which is why full length pieces are so often rectangles. Scalloped and windowpane designs are the decorative end of the range, closer to wall art than a functional dressing mirror.

Frames and materials. Metal frames come in gold, black, silver and bronze, in thin modern profiles and in heavier ornate baroque castings. Solid wood frames appear in fir, pine and mango, in natural, walnut and painted finishes, including hand-carved and distressed pieces. Natural fiber frames give a softer look: woven rattan, jute rope and wooden bead trims. The glass itself is named on the listing, and a number of models specify tempered glass.

Sizing it to the wall. Over a dresser or vanity, a mirror that spans roughly two thirds to three quarters of the furniture width looks balanced, and leaving four to six inches between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame keeps the pairing from looking crowded. For a full length mirror, you want the glass tall enough to show you head to toe from a few steps back, and hanging it so the top edge sits above your eyeline is a good starting point. Every listing carries the overall frame dimensions, which is what you should measure against, not the glass alone.

Hanging and standing safely. Wall mirrors hang from a hook, a D-ring or a French cleat, and the listing states the fitting supplied. Fix into a stud where you can, and use anchors rated for the mirror's weight where you cannot. Some rectangular and arched mirrors can hang either vertically or horizontally, which is worth checking if the wall is wider than it is tall. A leaning full length mirror should be secured to the wall with a strap or bracket so it cannot slide or be pulled over, which matters most in a room used by children.

More Bedroom Mirrors

arched mirror