Reflected glory: the endless versatility of wall mirrors and the best ones to buy now
We recently posted a video of Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik's Hackney flat on Instagram, in which they detail three clever, space enhancing tricks employed in their house. Of the techniques shown, the one which elicited the largest response in our office, involved a mirrored shutter. Concealed in the day, the shutter is designed to be drawn across the window at night, transforming the room on dark evenings, when lamp and candlelight can twinkle in its reflection.
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The example in Benedict and Daniel's flat may be one of the cleverest uses of mirrored glass we've seen in a long time, but even the most basic slip of unframed mirror can have a transformative effect. Hallways, small bathrooms, spare bedrooms, can all be enhanced with the use of mirrors. They bounce, reflect and refract light around a room, creating the illusion of a bigger and brighter space.
It's a trick that Rita Konig, who won interior designer of the year at our 2024 Top100 party, knows well. Above the opening that leads from the sitting room to the entrance hall in her recently renovated west London flat, Rita added mirrors, almost resembling a clerestory, high up above the door. "Gil Schafer suggested I did that and it works so brilliantly and gives the illusion that the hall has higher ceilings than it does," says Rita, who often collaborates with the American architect on projects.
As our style director says, "as autumn events give way to Christmas parties and the social season is in full swing, our full-length mirrors are getting more action than ever. Inspired by big looks and diva decorating, our decoration editor Rémy Mishon has gathered a gallery of glamorous mirrors and set them in a world of silk taffeta and floral bouquets. We love the amount of decoration that you can pack into the just the frame of a mirror - from a sharp, modern take on a Venetian mirror, to rope-effect carved wood, and from colour-blocked modernism to traditional bucranium motifs. From tailored to trad, we think we have found a mirror to reflect every style."
“I was inspired by diva dressing rooms for the set design (think Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl), so I wanted them to be big, individual characters and, as per our usual shopping edits, the best representation of their style currently available on the market. I wanted to include the companies that are doing something unique at the nth degree, like Rupert Bevan's modern dynamic designs with traditional cathedral glass techniques and Jamb's can't-believe-they're-reproductions line of mirrors alongside the best places to shop for mirrors of all styles and budgets.”
Whether you want to decorate your walls, bounce light around the room, add visual interest by reflecting a pretty corner, or just luxuriate in your own image, a wall mirror is a delightful accessory for any part of the house. As such, for our October issue, the decoration team reflected on the very best wall mirrors to buy now, compiling them below.
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