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How to Use Mirrors In Your Home

Why do we keep the flat, sheet mirrors that our contractors install? And why do we buy the mirror that matches the dresser?  I find that clients imitate what they see in the furniture store, or do what the previous owners of their home did. But, why? There are so many creative and interesting options. Today's blog is about the many uses of mirrors in your home and how the mirror you choose can reflect you and your style.

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A small bathroom (1) can be a tough place to create a sense of space, but I've found that a couple of impact pieces can lighten these sometimes cramped areas considerably. A good place to throw in  a great accent piece is over the sink. Mirrors come in all shapes and sizes and finding the perfect one can be difficult, but when you do it can bring about a great result. For example, this powder room is near the entry in the more formal part of the house. It had to be sophisticated but also bright and welcoming. The use of a Venetian style mirror brings reflected light and glamour.

Traditionally people think of bathrooms as the place where we have mirrors, but a mirror in the bedroom is a useful and beautiful tool. This bedroom (2 - 3) had a cozy feel with the fireplace lit, and plenty of light with a wall full of windows, but

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with a fireplace as a centerpiece and an equally strong focus placed on the bed with a patterned comforter, the mantel was a place to introduce calm. The mirror reflects the focus of the room, the bed, and is simple enough not to detract from the fireplace, but to enhance it. With a gilt frame, this mirror complements the elegance of the room without overwhelming the homier touches.

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It's true that bathrooms are the traditional location for a mirror, but often people overlook the different styles of mirror that they can place in a bathroom. The simplicity of an oval shaped mirror can make a bathroom stand apart. This one is off of a cozy family room. We combined classic fixtures in an updated brushed nickel finish with a quartz countertop and added a gorgeous antique wooden mirror. Because of its simplicity, a piece like this can be used all over your home, and can be moved about for a quick change to your décor. The wood finish allows it to fit in informal spaces like a bedroom, while the brass inlay gives it enough style to work in more sophisticated areas like a formal living room.

Oftentimes when buying a mirror, clients go for the trendy, or "in" piece, a practice I don't disagree with; however, there is a way to be trendy while still buying a piece that will work, even when the trend has passed. To work with the popular sunburst mirror trend, I chose a mirror that may still technically be "sunburst" but is a little more unusual. This gives the trendy vibe we wanted for this family area without the downside of having a statement piece that will be out of style in a year or two.

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The almost brutalist style of the mirror brings texture and sparkle to the chocolate brown wall.  Using a mirror over the sofa allowed light into an otherwise dark area.

When working with mirrors remember, you don't have to go with what is "expected"or part of a set, but you can instead pick what you feel works best in your space as well as what makes you feel like this house is your home.

Before: Peninsula Separating Kitchen from Great Room

When you picture a home in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, you might imagine rustic spaces, a roaring fire and cozy furniture. Well this house was so not that! The previous owners seemed to think they were in Palm Beach.  Lily Pulitzer pinks, lime green and yellow were everywhere!  This 70's era home needed a serious facelift.  It was a close contest, but I think the award for the ugliest room in the house had to go to the kitchen.

Before: Looking Into Kitchen

Before: Original Cabinetry and Appliances

The kitchen was terrible. When I say terrible, you’d better believe it was awful. Bright yellow and brown cabinetry, mismatched appliances, orange-hued pine paneling, closed in corners, wavy vinyl floors, yuck! And even though the space is right off of the main living area, upper cabinets and a single opening, made the kitchen feel closed off and separate from the rest of the house. We immediately went to work (or my contractor did), gutting the whole kitchen.  We planned on opening up the space by getting rid of some upper cabinets and adding an island.  This gave us a nice "U" shaped layout and good flow.  To save on costs, we kept appliances in their original places, adding a vented hood over the stove and tucking the microwave into the new island. We also gained a nice bar area for casual dining.

Midway

I love color, it’s true, but yellow was not doing it for me, and while the overall color scheme for the house is blue and green with touches of brown, I decided that this room needed to be bright so that meant white.  All white cabinetry is a classic, and quartz countertops with a soft gray limestone look gives a little contrast.  The gray tones look great with the new stainless appliances and relate to the gray stone fireplace in the adjacent space.  We eliminated the paneling on the walls and added a wood plank ceiling for warmth.  The wood ceiling continues into the adjacent space which visually ties the spaces together.

Almost There!

Finally, we added our color with pops of blue on the countertops, pretty accessories, and cookbooks in the built ins. The wrought iron lights and bronze finish on the hardware bring a touch of that rusticity that seems so suited to a mountain home. A pretty curtain for the window will be the finishing touch. Quite a transformation!

After: The new brighter, more welcoming space.

When people see beautiful pictures of a professionally decorated home they often think that they could never afford to hire a decorator. Many people believe that to afford a decorator you have to be wealthy but a home can be beautifully decorated on a small budget with smart choices and carefully selected pieces. Good decorators work together with their clients and their client's budgets to create a beautiful and functional space.

Recently I had the opportunity of working with a wonderful young couple buying and furnishing their first home. They had a small budget and they wanted to hire a decorator to help with much of the first floor of their house. The wife told me that she had interviewed several decorators that didn't want to work with her because the budget was too small but I was up for the challenge.  I am glad I took the job because they were wonderful clients and we all loved the results!

To furnish the living area, dining area and foyer within our budget, we used readily available pieces from a variety of retail and resale sources, nothing custom. We skipped drapes in the main area, but brought them into the front hall for big impact. These ready made drapes bring in some color and accentuate the height of the two story foyer. A large hanging light fixture also emphasizes the ceiling height while adding a bit of 'wow'.

In the dining space, two host chairs were placed at either end of the dining table for color, and antique store chairs (only $40 each!) were used along the sides of the table allowing seating for up to eight people. The oval table has a soft gray finish which relates to the gray sofas in the living area. Replacing the builder-grade chandelier with something prettier was the finishing touch.

We chose two sofas for the living area, a bit of nailhead trim makes these budget friendly sofas look more high end.  One pricey accent pillow on a sofa is surrounded by more budget friendly finds. An accent chair in a bold floral pattern brings in a bit of fun.  The media console was our biggest splurge and way over budget but we all felt it was the perfect piece for the room.  Finishing touches include a trellis pattern rug, blue-gray lamps and a silver garden stool to bring in a little shine.

 Overall, we came in right on budget.  We were able to offset our media console "splurge" by staying under budget on other pieces. I think this project proves that a space can be functional, pretty, and affordable!

So can you afford a decorator? The answer may be "Yes"! You don't know until you ask. If you have a room that needs decorating, you have to be realistic about what furnishings cost. But, with some savvy shopping, you can work within your budget, and have a better result, thanks to a decorator. Think of a decorator as an investment in your home. You want your investment to look its best, and a decorator helps you to accomplish that, even on a small budget.

Before Painting

When my daughter first moved into her little rental property it had just been entirely renovated by one of our neighbors (her new landlord). Predictably, he painted all the walls in the entire house the same peachy beige color. Now, if you know anything about me you know that I love color, and this preference has rubbed off on my daughter. Luckily, we have a landlord who is very accommodating, and he gave us permission  to paint the walls.

The Primary Wall Color

After: Walls Painted In Living Area

The first room we went to work on was her bedroom.  Often bedrooms are saved for last in a home, but we didn’t want that to happen. So before we did anything we painted her room a soft, green color to match her bedding and style. With that easily completed in an afternoon, we moved on to the living area. Here we decided to go with a light aqua blue. This soft blue can appear to be almost robin’s egg in the daylight, and at night appears sea foam green. Finally, we painted an accent wall in her dining area to create separation from the main living space. Here we got to have a little fun with color. While it’s obvious from my decorating that I love blue and all its variations, it’s safe to say that my daughter loves blues and greens as well. She chose a vibrant teal for the accent wall.

The addition of a mid-century modern dining set (an antique store find) updated with some vintage fabric (also an antique store find) gave her a cute and colorful dining space for her tiny 50s home.

After: Accent Wall