The Perfect Place To Put Your Mirror To Make Your Room Feel Bigger
An abundance of natural light can make any space feel more open and welcoming, which is why many people try to play that up when designing their homes. Designers have long used creative decorating tricks to make rooms feel a certain way, and the right hacks can even manipulate the eye to make your space feel larger than it actually is.
In addition to their practical function of allowing you to check your appearance, mirrors, in particular, are often utilized in design for the purpose of making a room seem bigger by amplifying and reflecting natural light. According to Remodelista, not only do mirrors reflect natural light, but they also showcase the view of whatever it's facing, giving the optical perception of a larger space.
While the right decorative mirror will look great anywhere, knowing where specifically to place it can help make a cool statement, while also creating the illusion of a larger room — ideal for those with not much space to work with.
It's all about the illusion
The best way to amplify daylight using a mirror is by going directly to the source. According to Oka, placing a mirror directly across from or beside a window will help magnify natural light and scatter it around the room, even on cloudy days without direct sunshine. The bigger the mirror, the brighter and larger the space will feel. This is particularly impactful if the mirror is directly on top of a surface that is also reflective, such as a mirrored chest of drawers.
The Glass Guru suggests positioning mirrors across from windows at a slight angle to maximize the room's natural light without creating a harsh glare from the sun when reflected. In addition to naturally bringing your eye upward, giving the illusion of a taller, more open room, tall, narrow mirrors can work to your advantage in another creative way. According to Sonoma Magazine, if you have any walls with small alcoves, strategically placing this type of mirror there and reflecting the wall across from it will open up your space by creating the illusion of a doorway that leads to a whole other room.