Helpful Tips For Finding The Best Large Mirror For Your Living Room

One of the best ways to add decorative charm to a living room is to learn how to decorate it with mirrors. They can help a room feel more spacious and bright, be the perfect place to add ornate detail with a vintage frame, or become a stunning focal point. But as with any large piece of furniture, it can be daunting to figure out what type of mirror you should be looking for, and what will look best in the space. To help us out, we turned to Whitney Vredenburgh, the owner of Nested Spaces Home Staging & Design, who specializes in home staging, is certified through Home Staging Resource, and is a proud RESA-PRO member. 

Vredenburgh shared the top tips for choosing, buying, and placing large mirrors in living and sitting rooms in an exclusive interview for House Digest. Learn where is best to place a mirror and the impact it can have on a space. Then, use the golden ratios for making sure a large mirror fits the actual size of your living room and furniture. 

As a starting point to figure out where you should hang a large or oversized mirror in the living room, "Consider angles, dimensions and room size" advises Vredenburgh in an exclusive interview with House Digest. If you planned to add another piece of wall art next to the mirror, you don't want to go too large, as this can look tight and messy — always keep the ratio of the mirror the wall size in mind. Don't forget to take lighting into consideration, or if a room feels dark or claustrophobic, because, "Mirrors make a space appear larger than it is by casting light into a room," says Vredenburgh. 

But large mirrors aren't limited to small living rooms, and can actually work really well in large spaces especially if you're using a mirror to take up empty space on walls, as Vredenburgh notes, saying, "They can also serve as a piece of art and focal point in a room especially if you don't have a fireplace (and even if you do!)." If you want to make sure the mirror is a focal point in the room, "add mirrors to large walls in a family room or in a corner of a family room or above a mantle, console table or credenza," Vredenburgh says, drawing the eye to the mirror and architectural interest of the space. 

How big is too big for a large mirror, you may wonder. This of course varies by the size of your living room, as well as the other furniture the mirrors are next to. Vredenburgh has a few golden rules for measuring and buying the right size of mirror. "Measure your space prior to adding a mirror," says Vredenburgh, adding, "For a mantle or console table, a mirror should be at least 6  to 12 inches shorter than the mantle as a general rule. For a corner, you can lean a mirror against it and it should be at least 60 inches high and 36 inches wide." 

Thankfully, you don't need to run off to the mall or an expensive home furnishing store Vredenburgh exclusively tells House Digest. She says you can have some budget-friendly success by shopping at some popular home retailers, recommending, "At Home, Target and Home Goods." These are major stores that often have great deals. Ultimately, if you still aren't sure what style of mirror you're after, there are some mirror styles that work pretty universally says Vredenburgh, who advises, "A black or dark wooden frame mirror would fit most any home and feel like a timeless piece for all homes."