I have written before how about mirrors are an essential feature of any room – especially one that is small and dark – as they will bounce the light around and make the space look bigger. But I also don’t like modern mirrors to be too big as they can give the impression that you are at the gym. That’s fine in the bathroom where they have a clear purpose but in a sitting room or bedroom, where you might have vintage furniture or a more modern rustic look, I prefer a foxed, or vintage-style, mirror.
But they have been pretty hard to get hold of. I have one in the bathroom which I bought from The Antique Mirror Company, which is based in Bath, last year. You can choose the size of the tiles and the degree of “foxing” that you want. They will then send them with glue and you simply stick them to the wall. We chose a flat tile – partly because it was cheaper but, handily, because we didn’t want the fancier bevelled edge. You can see the sort of “smoky effect” it gives in the image above. There are also other mirrors in there for make-up etc so this one is pretty much just decorative.
But I have been keeping an eye out for others – ready made ones – in case you would rather do that and have now, finally, found five of them so that’s a set. And they are in price order, which was completely unintentional but may make things easier.
These are the cheapest I have found with prices starting at £128 for 48cm in diameter from Adventures in Furniture. Having said that there’s no doubt that they look good in a group. The largest is 92m and costs £348. They are also quite heavily foxed so may be more decorative than useful although they will still catch the light from a window or door and bounce it back out. And I found the same mirror but with less foxing at Houseology if you prefer.
Then I found this because sometimes a rectangle is better. It’s from Graham & Green and it’s 90cm high by 60cm wide and £289. It’s made from four pieces so you will need to hang it at the right height or you’ll get a distorting line across your face which, even if you’re only checking for spinach between your teeth can be disconcerting.
Another rectangle, this time from Rockett St George for £520. It has a metal frame and measures 120xm by 100cm so it’s bigger than the one above and is one solid piece. This one would be perfect over a fireplace in a dark room instead of a picture and is also a perfect example of when an old mirror looks better than a modern one.
Actually there is another one at RSG which is round and £750 so I have added that to the mix to give you six instead of five – but five shops. It’s classed as small at 81cm in diameter and there is a five week waiting list so be warned about that.
Now this is a vintage mirror and is not dissimilar to the one I have over the mantelpiece in my bathroom – you can just see the corner in the top picture – except mine is normal mirror – which I have hung landscape rather than portrait. This one is £800 and is 118cm by 80cm from The French House.
Finally, this is a great example of how you can use mirror tiles to cover a whole wall or wardrobe (budget permitting) as created by Andrew Dunning of London Contemporary. The glass was provided by Rough Old Glass who also suggest you can buy a toughened version and use it as a brilliant kitchen splashback.
I hope that has given you some ideas and inspiration.
