Rectangular Mirrors

Why the rectangle is the default

Most rooms are built from straight lines, and a rectangular mirror agrees with them. It lines up with a door frame, a window reveal, the edge of a chimney breast or the top of a skirting board, so it settles into a wall rather than sitting on top of it. That is why it is the shape we stock most of, and why it is usually the safe answer when a wall has to work rather than perform. A round or arched mirror makes a deliberate break from the geometry of a room. A rectangle does the opposite, which is a useful quality when the furniture below it is already doing the talking.

Landscape or portrait

The same mirror does two different jobs depending on how you hang it. Landscape follows a sideboard, a chest or a long console and makes a room read wider, which suits a low wall with furniture under it. Portrait does the opposite: it lifts the eye, makes a ceiling feel higher and is the better choice in a narrow hallway or beside a door, where it reads almost like a second opening. Many of the pieces here can be hung either way, and the product page says so where the fixings allow it. If you are undecided, look at what the wall is short of. Short of width, hang landscape. Short of height, hang portrait.

Getting the proportion right

Over furniture, the working rule is that the mirror should be around two thirds the width of the piece beneath it, centred on the furniture rather than on the wall, with a hand span of clear space between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. Hang it so the middle of the glass falls near standing eye level. On a bare wall you have more freedom and the common mistake is going too small, because a modest mirror on a wide wall reads as an accident rather than a choice. Most of what we stock here is in the large band, with a good spread of extra large pieces and a smaller number of medium ones, so there is usually a size that fits without compromise.

Frames, from slim to ornate

Frame profile changes the character more than colour does. A slim modern frame gives you the most glass for the wall it takes up and disappears into a plain scheme, which is why it is the most common choice here. A traditional moulding has a stepped or rounded edge that catches light along its length and gives a mirror presence in a room with cornicing or panelled doors. Ornate frames are the smallest group and the most particular, with moulded surrounds that are the feature of the wall rather than a border on it. Finishes run through silver, black, gold and grey, with wood, glass and metal all used for the frames themselves.

Full length and leaner mirrors

A good part of this range is full length, and many of those are leaners, built to rest against the wall at a shallow angle instead of hanging from it. A leaner avoids the fixing question, suits a bedroom or a dressing corner, and makes a room read taller because the glass starts near the floor. It costs you floor depth, and it needs an anti tip strap in any home with children or pets. The strap holds the frame back to the wall while the mirror still leans, so the look survives and the risk does not. A heavier frame is more stable leaning than a light one, but none of them should be left unanchored.

Where a rectangular mirror works

Hallways take more of these than any other room, because a rectangle hung portrait borrows width from a narrow space and carries light down it. Living rooms come next, usually over a sideboard or opposite a window where the glass returns daylight instead of absorbing it. Bedrooms are where the full length pieces earn their floor space. A smaller number suit a bathroom, though that is the room to check the finish for: a sealed frame handles humidity and a raw timber one will not enjoy sitting in steam.

Hanging one safely

Weight is the thing people underestimate. Fix into studs or masonry rather than plasterboard alone, use fixings rated well above the stated weight, and get a second pair of hands for anything above the medium band. Every product page lists the weight and the dimensions so you can buy the right fixings before delivery rather than after. If the wall is old, uneven or you are not sure what is behind it, a mirror of this size is worth an hour of a tradesperson time.