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Reflecting your personal style
Never consider a mirror to be something that merely shows your reflection. I the modern home the mirror can provide design deceptions wherever it is p
"a carefully placed mirror provides no end of optical illusions"
Forget your fabulous visage, the most thing any mirror must reflect is light. Placed opposite an existing window the mirror introduces additional exterior light into the room; particularly useful in rooms with only one good natural light source.
An added bonus from using mirrors in this way is the introduction of a window view on a wall that might otherwise hold little interest.
A candle or lamp situated in front of a mirror will be amplified; throwing more light back into the room than the original source, but with more forgiving quality (useful for hiding a multitude of sins both decorative and personal).
A carefully placed mirror provides no end of optical illusions, most importantly the perception of space.
A mirror on a wall opposite a door immediately draws the eye of anyone entering the room to the moving reflection. The entrant gets a feeling the room extends beyond the end of the wall they are looking at. More importantly, it allows inhabitants of any room a surreptitious glance at anyone entering.
Use mirrors to even out the feel of long, thin rooms by placing them on the walls that are the shortest distance apart (leading people to feel the room is actually wider).
Short or dark landings can be elongated by placing a tall, wide mirror at the end. Add a contemporary feel by buying a large mirror with a thick frame (think leather or high gloss) and merely resting this at an angle against the wall, rather than hanging it up – this also works well in any dressing area, where space allows, as a funky alternative to a free standing mirror.
The optical illusion does not have to be limited to the interior of your home: it works equally well outside in the garden.
If you have a walled area you can give the appearance of a view “beyond the view” by framing a mirror and hanging it up surrounded by shrubbery or ivy.
Mirroring, rather than glazing, a window frame which is then hung on a wall provides a cheeky talking point and always has people mystified on their first, unexpected encounter.
Jamie Hempsall is a BIDA associate and leading interior designer in the area. To see some of his work visit www.jamiehempsall.com or contact him on 01777 248463.
