Mirror Magic
Improve Your Small Living Room With Mirrors
This article is inspired by my friend Aisha whom I visited at her apartment last summer and she kept complaining about how her living room felt cramped and was considering moving to a larger apartment after spring next year.
I didn’t see any problems with her current apartment, it is a beautiful apartment in Downtown Phoenix - about an hour’s drive from my place, and apart from the living room, the other rooms are fairly spacious, so I asked her if she would still consider moving if I found a way to make her small living room feel bigger and she said no.
I did some research, and consulted some interior designers, among the many suggestions they had for me, one that particularly resonated with me was the use of mirrors.
In a nutshell, here are 5 cost-free small living room mirror ideas:
- Use Tall Mirrors
- Place The Mirror Opposite Your Windows
- Using Gallery Wall
- Take Advantage Of Your Mirror’s Reflective Surface
- Create Diagonal Lines
5 Small Living Room Mirror Ideas For You
A mirror’s reflective surface can be used for much more than grooming, and from the suggestions I got from the interior designers, these 5 methods gave my friend’s living room a different airy, and open vibe. She loved the 4th idea and used it.
1. Use Tall Mirrors
Placing a full-length mirror with a minimal design (simple or thin frame) against your wall will help reflect natural light, artificial light, and whatever is opposite it. If you have accent walls, then the mirror can act as a backsplash to give the illusion of open space.
Don’t crowd your living room by keeping mirrors opposite each other or in front of scattered furniture, this is because the continuous reflection from having mirrors opposite each other can make you feel dizzy while having your clutter reflected on mirrors will make your room feel very crowded.
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2. Place The Mirror Opposite Your Windows
We found out that placing the mirrors opposite windows reflects the natural light seeping into the room, brightens dark corners, and makes the room feel airy. This works better if the mirror is around the same size as your window as it can maximize the light reflection. If you have a garden outside or another pretty view like mine (the Catalina mountains), then the mirrors can promote a sense of depth and spaciousness as well as bring your view into your room.
For a sense of height, try to place the mirror higher, for intimacy and comfort, place the mirror low. If you stay near the roadside or a busy street, this idea as a whole may not be a good idea due to noise and privacy concerns.
3. Using Gallery Wall
When you hear gallery wall, you may think of photos, but while it may not show your memories or history, it has a great aesthetic effect and can bring depth to your room, feel free to experiment with different sizes, shapes, and designs till you get a desired effect.
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4. Use Your Mirror’s Reflective Surface
You can hang small wall mirrors opposite beautiful pieces of furniture or accessories to create a focal point other than your TV. You can choose to reflect that accent chair with a throw blanket on it, the low fireplace, the sofa your small pup likes to lay on, or even your low-hanging chandelier.
You can also hang your mirror on the wall above or behind our furniture to create a focal point. In Aisha’s case, she decided to reflect her beautiful hanging garden to promote her sense of closeness with nature.
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5. Create Diagonal Lines
Placing a tall mirror at strategic angles can create diagonal lines that make your room feel longer and wider than it is, while also reflecting beautiful elements in your living room.
You can lean your full-length mirror on a wall that is perpendicular to your armchair, accent chair, or couch to make your room look longer or hang it on a wall that is adjacent to a window to create a diagonal line from the top of the window to the bottom of the opposite wall, just angle the mirror slightly and you will have a room that looks wider and feels spacious.
Conclusion
Small living rooms can feel cramped and is especially terrible if you have claustrophobia. However, incorporating various elements can make your home cozy and inviting while getting rid of that discomfort and making it so you don’t have to spend big bucks moving to a bigger apartment.
Not only has Aisha decided to stay in her current apartment, she now spends more time in her living room and enjoys every moment. You can too!
As a bonus, if you have a big TV, here are some ways to improve your small living room with TV.
