Leaner Mirrors

What makes a mirror a leaner

A leaner is built for the job rather than simply being a big mirror stood on the floor. The back is finished, because you can see it from the side. The bottom edge is made to sit on a hard floor or a carpet without chipping. The frame is usually deeper than a hanging mirror of the same size, so the piece stands at a stable angle rather than a steep one. Buying a wall mirror and propping it up gets you none of that, which is why the ones here are sold as leaners.

The safety part, first

A mirror of this size resting on a floor has to be anchored to the wall with an anti tip strap. That is not a caution about clumsiness, it is about the way a tall piece of glass behaves if a child pulls on the frame or a dog runs into it. The strap fixes the top of the frame back to the wall while the mirror carries on leaning, so nothing about the look changes and the mirror cannot come forward. Fit it into a stud or into masonry, not into plasterboard on its own. If you are renting and cannot fix into the wall, a hanging mirror is the safer buy.

Floors, and the angle it rests at

The floor decides how one of these sits. On boards or tile the feet want something soft under them, both to stop the finish marking and to stop the mirror sliding as it settles. On carpet the base sinks slightly and the angle steepens, which is worth knowing because a steeper lean throws the reflection further up your body and can make a room look oddly tilted. A shallow lean reflects more of the room and less of the ceiling. Most people end up wanting less angle than they first set.

Why these are nearly all extra large

Three quarters of this range is in the extra large band and the rest is large, with nothing smaller. That is not an accident of stock: a leaner has to be tall enough to justify the floor it takes up, and below a certain height you are better off hanging something. It also means these are heavy, and heavy is helpful here because a substantial frame is more settled leaning than a light one. It does mean two people for the delivery and the positioning.

Bedrooms, and where else one works

Every mirror on this page suits a bedroom, which is the clearest signal in the range and matches what people buy them for: somewhere to dress, in a room with a wall to spare. Living rooms come next, usually in a corner or beside a fireplace where a full height reflection opens the room out. A leaner also works at the end of a hallway, though it needs the floor depth, and that is the one thing a narrow hallway rarely has.

Choosing a frame you will be looking at

Wood is the frame material on most of these, which suits a piece that sits at floor level among furniture rather than up on a wall. Finishes run through silver, white, gold, black and grey, so there is a match for most schemes. The frames themselves split between slim modern profiles, plainer traditional mouldings and a smaller group of ornate ones. Because a leaner is at eye level and close to you, the frame gets looked at more than a wall mirror ever does, so it is worth spending the extra minute on that choice.