Where to Place Mirrors in Your Home for Maximum Style
Pick the perfect spot.
Whether you need a new mirror for your morning routine, are looking to enhance your home's natural lighting, or create the illusion of a larger space, mirrors can enhance your home design. Mirrors are a great way to elevate your home style, but you may be wondering where to place mirrors in your house. We’ve got you covered with the most popular spots for mirrors in different rooms to create your desired effect.
Where to Place Mirrors in Your Home
Mirrors are commonly found throughout homes and can serve different purposes in each room. Read on to learn where to place mirrors in your entire home including your foyer, living room, bedroom, bathroom, and dining room.
Having a mirror near your front door is super practical for providing a place to quickly check your appearance before heading out for the day. It can also help you enhance natural light in what is often a small part of your home that can use a little extra illumination. Try these entryway mirror placements for a stylish and functional space.
- Over a Console Table: One of the most common placements for entryway mirrors is over a console table. This makes for a convenient pit stop on your way out or into your home. The console table is a great place to keep keys and other essential items for your day. Pairing this station with a mirror can help you create a habit of making sure you look your best and have all your essentials before heading out the door. Try centering a round, square, or a rectangular mirror with hooks over a long console table for added key or hat storage.
- Behind a Storage Bench: If you don’t have a console table in your entryway, you can use a similar placement centered on the wall behind a storage bench. You hang a large wall mirror starting an inch or two above your storage bench. Choose one that is close to equal width as your bench and tall enough to provide you with a full-length mirror effect. This gives you a good place to check out your outfit before heading out and reflects plenty of natural light in your space.
- Near the Door: If you have a hall tree that doesn’t leave enough space for a wall mirror above it, place a full-length mirror beside it close to your front door. You can hang it or lean it up against the wall. This provides the perfect spot for a quick fit check after putting on your jacket and shoes.
In living rooms, mirrors are used more for aesthetic purposes. They can be an interesting addition to your wall decor, or can make a smaller living room look bigger since the light they reflect creates the illusion of more space.
- Behind the Sofa: Centering a mirror behind your main sofa is a great way to establish a focal point in your living room. This is especially effective if this is adjacent from the room’s entrance because it will be the first thing people see when they enter the room. This focal point will draw your eye to this area and away from any clutter on side tables or in the corners of the room. This is also a great way to add a pop of color to your walls with a fun mirror frame, offering contrast and depth to neutral walls. You can balance things out even more by installing a wall sconce on either side of your mirror.
- Part of a Gallery Wall: Mirrors are a great addition to any gallery wall. They add depth and visual interest to your display since their reflections change based on your perspective. You can incorporate one or a few small decorative mirrors into your gallery based on the style and aesthetic you’re going for.
Tip!
Need help designing a gallery wall? We’ve got you covered with our guide on How to Make a Gallery Wall.
The Bedroom
Mirrors are a staple in most bedrooms since this is where we start and end each day. Try out these bedroom mirror placements.
- Centered Over the Bed: Centering a mirror directly over your headboard is another trick for creating a focal point. This immediately draws your eye to the bed, so this placement would make the most sense if your bed is centered in the middle of the wall itself. Opt for a wall mirror that is two-thirds or three-quarters the width of your bed to maintain a proportional look.
- One on Each Side: If you love balance and symmetry, try hanging a medium-sized wall mirror over each nightstand on either side of your bed. Round, oval, or octagonal mirrors will look great in this placement. The symmetrical setup highlights your bed as the focal point, while the mirrors reflect the lighting from your table lamps for enhanced ambience.
- Over a Wardrobe: A classic bedroom mirror placement is centered above your wardrobe. This creates a vanity effect so you can use this space to store your makeup or jewelery and use the mirror when getting ready or trying on clothes. If you don’t want to hang a mirror on your wall, select a wardrobe with an attached mirror or a makeup vanity.
- On a Door: Another mirror option to avoid hanging on on your wall is hanging a full-length mirror on your bedroom door. Install it to the door with hardware or choose one with hooks that hang on the top of your door without damaging it.
- Leaning Against a Wall: Skip hanging a heavy full-length mirror and lean one against the wall instead. This laid-back alternative is renter-friendly and makes it easy to change the placement of your mirror whenever you’d like to refresh your decor.
Tips!
Upgrade your bedroom with multifunctional mirrors. From over-the-door mirrors with hidden storage to wall mirrors with built-in hooks, these pieces serve double duty to provide storage and a space to get ready.
Mirrors are a staple in bathrooms and in your morning and nightly routine. Useful for everything from your skin-care routine to styling your hair, mirror placement matters.
- Centered Over the Vanity: One mirror centered over the bathroom vanity is the standard placement for bathroom mirrors. If you have one sink, center the mirror above the one sink. If you have two sinks and one large mirror, align the mirror with the center of the vanity countertop. You can also keep clutter off the counter by choosing a medicine cabinet mirror so you can store away medications, skin care, or dental products.
- One over Each Sink: Another option for a bathroom vanity with double sinks is to center one medium-sized mirror over each sink. Round or vertical rectangular mirrors work best for this setup.
Tip!
Pick the perfect bathroom mirror with our helpful guide: The Best Mirrors for Bathrooms.
Dining Rooms
Mirrors can elevate your dining room by highlighting decor, enhancing lighting, and creating a solid focal point. Try these placements when adding a mirror to your dining space.
- Over the Mantel: If your dining room has a mantel, the negative space above is prime real estate for a mirror. This is a great alternative to a painting if you want to enhance your lighting or create the illusion of a grand dining space. If you have a chandelier or pendant lights that you’re proud of, the mirror will also create an interesting visual effect by reflecting them. Look for a wall mirror with a frame that complements the design of your mantel to create a cohesive vignette.
Tip!
Place lit candles on the mantel in front of the mirror to boost ambience by, or reflect your favorite colors by adding decor or floral arrangements.
- Centered Over the Buffet: If you don’t have a mantel, you can create the perfect place for a mirror by adding a bar cabinet or buffet. The wall space above this surface is the perfect place to center a mirror and it looks great with rounded or rectangular mirrors. Keep things simple with a thin metallic frame or add fun modern flair with a mirror with a colorful scalloped frame.
Tip!
Check out some of our other guides to learn more enhancing your home design with mirrors:
Your Guide to Wall Mirror Sizes
How to Decorate With Mirrors
How to Hang a Heavy Mirror Like a Pro
How to Decorate Around a Mirror on the Wall
