Small rooms are psychologically uncomfortable for living. When redevelopment of a living room, kitchen or narrow hallway is not possible, techniques are used that visually correct the space. Design methods are varied, but there is no more effective mirror for expanding space, if you do not take into account the physical enlargement of the room.
Mirror in the interior of a small room
A place to live should be beautiful, physically comfortable and psychologically comfortable. All these parameters contribute to the formation of a full-fledged living space. This is why small, narrow rooms need adjustment. A mirror in an interior often acts as such a tool.
With its help, the space is literally doubled. A room with mirrors on the walls becomes brighter, its aesthetics improve, and its design improves.
There are various ways to place a mirror. They are placed on the walls in the form of small, decorative elements in a round, square frame or without; in the form of a canvas consisting of many fragments of various shapes. Large mirrors in the interior - from the floor to the ceiling - are the best way to increase the volume of the room. The absence of a border does not mark the beginning of the canvas, so the reflected space looks like another room. The main thing is to know that this is a reflection, not real space.
In addition to walls, they are placed on the ceiling and even on the floor. In this way, it is possible to adjust the space of narrow, small rooms.
The beginning of the era of mirrors
The first mentions of mirrors that we are used to seeing come from 1240, at which time European craftsmen began blowing vessels
from glass. A little later, in 1279, a monk named John Peckham, for the first time ever, developed a method of coating a mirror with a thin layer of tin.
Starting from the 13th century, the making of mirrors spread throughout almost the entire territory of Europe, transforming in the hands of each master. The basis was taken from the experience of John Peckham, when tin was blown through a tube onto the surface of glass, and after solidification it was broken into pieces.
A real breakthrough in the production of mirror paintings was made by the brothers Domenico and Andrea from Murano, who cut a still hot cylinder into two halves and rolled it into a layer. Thus, the first mirror was born - shiny and beautiful, which did not distort the reflection, unlike broken pieces of tin.
Visual expansion of the hallway
The first room in the house is the hallway, which has a very small area. Sometimes nothing else fits in it except a wall hanger. But even in the most disadvantaged version, you can always visually adjust the area. A mirror in the hallway is an essential attribute. In addition to its intended use, it can be used to easily move walls apart.
Photo: Alexey Trofimov
For example, a door with a mirror is an effective tool for this. This method is suitable if the hallway is not elongated and does not smoothly transition into a long corridor.
A wardrobe in the hallway with a tall mirror will not only help you dress up before going out, but also visually improve the interior. Even an ordinary wall mirror in a modern hallway interior will adjust its area.
Hang bronze curtain rods
Nowadays there is such an abundance of curtain rods that bronze ones are installed less and less often. They are inferior to aluminum, wood, and especially plastic ones in terms of heaviness and high price. And yet they are beautiful, strong, durable.
Photo: textile-home.com
Photo: blind-perfection.co.uk
Expanding the bathroom space
A room in which there are no mirrors is sometimes especially inconvenient, especially if it is a bathroom. In the interior, this attribute plays a double role. Small apartments rarely have a spacious, open bathroom. Therefore, it is also necessary to increase its volume.
Galina Goryacheva & Veronika Smorodinskaya
But due to its busy nature, it is not always possible to install a reflective element from floor to ceiling on a wall or on a cabinet. Therefore, illuminated mirrors were invented for this purpose. This not only makes using them more convenient, but also allows you to additionally illuminate the space. Due to the light, the reflective space appears even larger. In the bathroom, in addition to the square and round mirror above the sink, additional design is used:
- Mirror tile panel on the opposite wall
- Door with built-in mirror
- Mirror ceilings
Author: Interior Design Studio 13.12
Increasing kitchen volume
A kitchen of 6 square meters and other similar areas look much more interesting when the kitchen apron is made of mirror tiles and mosaics. The mirrored kitchen in the interior is supported by a refrigerator, microwave, stove and oven in metallic color. This design technique is perfect for a Scandinavian-style kitchen.
The design in a classic style will qualitatively complement the panel near the dining area. Fragmented using bevel allows you to achieve increased aesthetics. The diamond-shaped shape will add nobility to the interior.
For a high-tech style, a mirror, as well as chrome furniture parts, emphasizes the design.
Mirror in the living room
A mirror on the wall in the living room interior is installed depending on the purpose. Sometimes it is a decorative element, subtly hinting at the expansion of space. For example, mirror honeycombs in the interior, distributed on one of the walls in a chaotic manner.
Mirror stickers, paintings with printing or sandblasting perfectly decorate empty walls and reflect light well. Due to this, the interior becomes attractive and bright. A panel with diamond-shaped mirror sections in the sofa area zones the space and visually adds volume.
Mirrors in the living room interior, Beveled mirror on the wall photo
Additional decoration for the interior is provided by a colored mirror, gold, tinting, matting.
Non-standard shapes, different sizes, and the arrangement of the canvases add art motifs and also distract from the purpose of placement, since the mirror looks more like decor.
A classic living room, decorated in the form of beveled mirrors and sun mirrors, will sparkle with grace, nobility, and originality.
Mirrored furniture will dilute the cramped space: a coffee table, a bedside table under the TV, a chest of drawers. Such stylish pieces of furniture add high cost and increased decorative value to the interior.
Decorate the walls with bronze panels
The high plasticity of bronze allows you to make three-dimensional panels of any complexity and decorate walls with them. And decorators take full advantage of this. The style of wall decor varies from abstract forms to strict classical lines and vintage paraphernalia. Sometimes a bronze panel is given the functions of a sconce.
Photo: renoguide.com.au
Photo: lushome.com
Photo: jerusalemhouseministries.net
Bedroom extension
Although it is not recommended to place a mirror in the rest room, in some cases you cannot do without it. To understand how to expand the bedroom interior with a mirror and not make a mistake, you need to consider its configuration, furniture placement, and room size.
The mirror is installed in the bedroom in a place where the bed is not reflected.
In a narrow bedroom, it is advisable to install the bed close to the wall of one of the sidewalls, if it is not possible to do this with the headboard. And behind the bed there is already a mirror on the wall. In small rooms, it is better to abandon floor-mounted A-shaped mirrors in order to save space. For ergonomics, it is recommended to place them on the wall, on built-in cabinets.
Feng Shui Tips
Recommendations for the location of mirrors in the living room of an apartment or house:
- A mirror in the hall that reflects flowers, beautiful paintings or photographs of happy moments is a favorable sign.
- If you intend to place the product near a window, then it is advisable to place it on the side walls, this will allow not to disrupt the circulation of positive energy in the living room.
Ceiling
Installing a mirror in the interior to expand the space from floor to ceiling is a less rare technique, but it is also necessary if the ceilings are low enough. But at the same time, designers try to design only part of it. For example, in the dining area the space directly above the table is decorated in this way. In the living room, open hall, a mirror is placed under the chandelier. The technique is especially effective if it is a real crystal chandelier. With low ceilings in the bathroom, they are decorated with mirrors together with spotlights.
How to make a frame with your own hands: light and original design
It’s not at all difficult to design a square-shaped mirror canvas yourself. Creative people will consider it an honor to make a frame with their own hands, which will subsequently become a stylish addition to the interior.
Try making your own stained glass frame. It directly designs the canvas itself, so you don’t need any additional details.
All you need to purchase is:
- Stained glass paints of different colors - they are selected after choosing the future design,
- Stained glass outline
, which will become the basis of the entire drawing, - Masking tape,
- Copy paper,
- Pencil,
- Whatman paper corresponding to the size of the mirror, or wallpaper with a clean back side.
First, place the mirror on whatman paper and trace it. Then draw a sketch in those places where you plan to decorate the mirror canvas. Place carbon paper to size on the mirror surface, the finished sketch on top and fasten everything with masking tape so that the structure does not move.
Next, draw the sketch again. All of its parts will remain on the surface of the mirror. Now you should use a stained glass outline of the selected color to outline the image on the mirror canvas. Let the outline harden for a while. And the next step is to fill parts of the sketch with stained glass paints of different shades , now the outline will hold the paint, preventing it from spreading. It will take a day for the paint to dry completely.
