If a room feels cramped or dark, a mirror is the fastest, most affordable fix in interior design. Used well, it borrows light, adds depth and can make a small space feel almost twice its size. Here is how to place one for the biggest effect.
Why mirrors make a room feel bigger
A mirror does two things at once. It reflects light, bouncing daylight and lamplight deeper into the room, and it creates the illusion of depth, suggesting space continues beyond the wall. Together, those effects trick the eye into reading a small room as larger and airier.
Place a mirror opposite or beside a window
The single most effective move: hang a mirror where it can catch a window. Directly opposite floods the room with reflected daylight; just beside the window doubles the view and the light without glare. In a dim hallway or a north-facing room, this one change can transform how open the space feels.
Go large, or go full-length
In a small room, one generous mirror almost always beats several tiny ones, it reads as calm and reflects more. A full-length leaner mirror is especially clever: it draws the eye up, adds height to a low room, and reflects the floor, which makes the space feel like it extends further.
Use a pair or a grouping
Where one large mirror will not fit, a pair of asymmetrical mirrors can do the same job while adding rhythm to a wall. Hang them at a consistent height above a console or sideboard so they read as a considered set rather than an afterthought.
Mind what it reflects
A mirror only ever improves a room as much as what it reflects. Aim it at a window, a plant, a piece of art or an open, tidy corner, not at clutter, a doorway into a messy room, or a blank, dark wall. Reflect the best of the space and it will feel twice as good.
Find your mirror
Browse our asymmetrical mirrors, sculptural, light-giving designs on brushed stainless steel frames, from compact wall mirrors to full-length leaners. For more ideas, read our guide on how to style an asymmetrical mirror. Free UK delivery.