The Magic of Mirrors

[I’m “cheating” today and sharing a blog post I wrote for Just18Summer.com a couple of years ago.]

When I was a child, one of my favorite, most fascinating “games” was to walk around with a hand mirror held just under my eyes so that the ceiling became the floor, and the rooms in our house were turned upside down. Yes, I bumped into my fair share of furniture and stubbed my toes more than once, but that didn’t stop me from playing “the mirror game.” I loved the way a mirror seemed to turn everything upside down and backwards, and how it could make a room seem twice as big and the light from a window twice as bright. And how if you looked in a mirror at yourself looking in another mirror, it multiplied the image to infinity. It was almost magical!

When it comes to decorating, mirrors can still work “magic.” There is no other decorating accessory that works so hard and accomplishes so much with so little effort.

Yes, the main purpose of mirrors is usually practical: to help us see our own reflection while we brush our hair, put on makeup, or check our outfit for the day.

This vanity mirror in my sister’s bedroom does that in style. But it’s also positioned—as is every mirror in her beautiful home—to reflect something pretty or interesting.

This mirror in our foyer was a garage sale find. I love that it reflects greenery, as well as light from the front door’s sidelights. It also serves the purpose of safety and convenience: if we’re coming down the stairs or around the corner, we can see the foyer before we get there.

My office in our last house opened onto a long, dim hallway. By hanging two mirrors, one over the other, we created the effect of a full-length mirror, and the light it reflected from my office window not only brightened the hallway, but made it appear much wider and shorter.

Don’t think you must always hang a mirror. One of the mirrors from the hallway above now rests on the floor of the master bedroom in our current home, leaning against the wall and bouncing light from the windows directly across from it.

This floor-standing mirror in our living room made the ficus tree (and later, our Christmas tree) look twice as full. It reflected lovely light from the window and gave an empty wall a much more interesting view. (A warning, however: I speak of this mirror in past tense because one day, for no apparent reason, it fell forward and shattered into a million pieces! So take heed—especially if you have small children in your home—that a mirror must be securely hung or anchored in place for safety’s sake.)

This round mirror in my office was carefully placed to reflect a lamp on the opposite wall. A mirror can literally give you twice the sparkle in a room by strategically reflecting lamps or other spots of light.

Here’s another place where a mirror reflects natural light—in this case, from two rooms away! Notice how the shape of the small mirror echoes the arch of the doorway. (This mirror belonged to my parents, so it has sentimental value but is also completely practical—it’s placed so I can see the back of my head when I do my hair in the morning.)

There is strength in numbers, and that goes for mirrors, too! My sister-in-law has created the prettiest display of mirrors in their home. This collection of antique hanging mirrors fills one whole wall in this sitting room, and catches sun from the skylight and surrounding windows while serving wonderfully as art in the room.

My mother-in-law has done the same thing with antique hand mirrors in a guest bath.

Mirrors turned a blank wall in my mother-in-law’s house into a charming entryway, setting the space behind the sofa apart from the rest of the living room, and giving the impression of an actual foyer.

Mirrors are just one tool to help make your house feel brighter and homier. Are the mirrors in your home being used to the best advantage? Are there ways you could reposition them to capture and reflect more light, and to reflect something more interesting than they currently do?

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Deborah Raney

DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a three-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

Latest posts by Deborah Raney (see all)

• Inspired by Scripture - November 17, 2024
• Writing “The End” - November 11, 2024
• Inspired by Scripture - November 10, 2024