Make Mirrors a Design Element in Your Home

Mirrors may have been around since the Middle Ages, but somewhere along the way they went from a tool to simply check your appearance to an art form. Nowadays, we have modern mirrors in our homes primarily for function, but increasingly for design and form as well. Some of the newest mirror designs available are meant to be a focal point in home decor.

Boca Do Lobo

Bocadolobo Root mirrors booth design

Portugal’s Boca Do Lobo is an exclusive luxury retailer, who’s offerings include some stunning decorative mirrors. From amazing wall mirrors that are are truly works of art, to home furnishings made of mirrored surfaces, they show the breadth of what’s possible with a mirror.

Root black frame mirrors from Bocadolobo

The “Root” wall mirror is actually a collection of 10 separate mirror that are grouped and overlapped to create one very large mirror.  The different sizes and seemingly random arrangement make this a decorative mirror that is far from ordinary. It’s perfect for a dining room, as pictured, or it would also work in a family or living room.

Neapoli brass mirror from Bocadolobo
Neapoli brass mirror from Bocadolobo closer look

The company’s Neapoli is a massive 72-inch large mirror that will definitely be a focal point in any room. Made of 21 convex mirrors, each is framed in wood that is finished with silver leaf. Each mirror is then put in a textured wood setting, which is then grouped with the others around the central mirror. While perhaps not a truly functional mirror, it is a fantastic example decorative mirrors for home decor.

Ring wall mirror from Bocadolobo

Sometimes, all you need is classic simplicity, exemplified in Boca Do Lobo’s round mirror.  The pearly metallic frame is just enough for the elegant wall mirror, especially when paired with a more intricate piece that deserves the focus, like the unique console table underneath.

KOKET

KOKET may get attention for its “notoriously risque” ad campaigns, but their furnishings and home decor pieces are what really grab the eye.  Founder Janet Morais is known for her dramatic & edgy design aesthetic, which drives the offerings of the brand  KOKET-Love Happens. She has translated her bicultural upbringing in New York and Paris into a  “highly trained eye for haute taste and a dead on instinct of trends to come and what people wanted. ” The result is that KOKET carries some truly amazing decorative mirrors.

Tamara Wall mirror

Spare, with clean lines, this duo of frameless modern mirrors is a natural fit for the modern, serene bedroom style that is one of 2016’s major trends.

Stone like mirror in copper
Stone like mirror in copper closer

Modern but with more textural interest, this round mirror has a layered and stone-like look. The metallic finish gives it just the right amount of glamour, making this a stand-out mirror for an entryway or a living room.

Guilt from bykoket mirror
bykoket mirror on wall - Guilt

In a very different take on the sunburst-style decorative mirror, this compelling piece combines the textural metallic surround of the larger mirror with black metallic strips radiating out from behind the central mirror. The design is punctuated by metallic cubes on metal witness that highlight the central round mirror’s framing.

FÄRG & BLANCHE

Succession Mirrors black design
Succession Accent Black Mirrors

Swedish designer Fredrik Färg and designer French-born Emma Marga Blanche together founded FÄRG & BLANCHE in Stockholm. Their studio collaborates with established Swedish furniture brands such as Gärsnäs, Zero and Design House Stockholm in addition to producing it’s own collections and gallery art pieces. These modern mirrors from the Succession collection, are framed in leather and textiles on a base of an innovative composite material. Ropes are tied around the pieces before they are baked. After cutting away the ropes,  a seamless pattern emerges, which the studio says is, “as brutal as it is sophisticated and refined.”

Gervasoni

Gervasoni Mirror
Gervasoni Mirror Wall
Gervasoni Mirror Black
Gervasoni Mirror Black Design

Freewheeling and seemingly hand-drawn, these wall mirrors by Gervasoni of Italy are titled Sweet 97. Designed by Paola Navone, the eclectic pieces are modern and whimsical, yet lend an elegant touch to a room. Available in two sizes and in black and white, the mirror’s “frame” is silk-screened onto the surface. Singly or in a grouping, these are minimalistic fun.

Jake Phipps

Called “One to Watch” by Living Etc. magazine, Jake Phipps creates decorative mirrors and uses mirrors in furniture. The London-based designer started out as a cabinetmaker before starting his own studio in 20015. His clients include Casmania, Tommy Hilfiger, Philippe Starck, Google, Riva, Innermost, Poltrona Frau, Heal’s, Victoria’s Secret, and The Victoria and Albert Museum, according to Phipps’ website.

Stellar large wall mirror

Phipps’ Stellar Mirror is “inspired by the precious qualities of naturally forming amethyst geodes and machine cut diamonds.” The middle of the wall mirror is juxtaposed with the “turbulent” sized and angled mirrored pieces surrounding its edges.

Stelar oval low coffee table mirrored

Taking a mirror as a coffee table, this piece is truly special. “As the ambience of the environment changes throughout the day, so too does the colour and lustre of the table, creating an ever changing focal point to a room,” explains the product description.

Stellar mirrored console

Our favorite is this exceptional console table, which plays upon the same concepts as the other pieces in the Stellar collection. It is a decidedly a statement piece deserving of center stage wherever it is placed.

Maison Valentina

Equally alluring but more ornate are the decorative mirrors from Maison Valentina, which specializes in luxury bathrooms. The London-based firm carries a variety of bathroom furnishings as well as other decor items. The Venice mirror’s unusual shape and elegant design come together in a “passionate explosion of romance, drama.”  The piece is hand-cut and carved by an experienced glass artisan, yielding a magnificent bathroom mirror.

Maison Valentina Apollo Mirror

This bathroom setting shows how you can combine a number of unique decorative mirrors and mirrored items in a luxe setting without seeming gaudy. From the minimalist framed modern mirror on the left, to the large, gold Apollo decorative mirror on the right, the room is pure elegance. The oversized mirror is named after the Greek God Apollo, a god of light and the sun. The sunburst style piece is formed from legs that lead from the central round mirror to additional mirrors. The frame of the central mirror is done in gold leaf and the remaining frame is cut from solid oak wood or mahogany, available in silver or gold leaf.

Venice mirror from Maison valentina

The centerpiece of Maison Valentina’s bathroom is the Lapiaz bathtub.  It is given the French name that describes the typical karst formations produced by surface dissolution of limestone or dolomite rocks, according to the company’s product information. The polished details and mirrored surround make this a natural piece for the most luxurious of bathrooms — definitely the bathtub of glamorous dreams!

Antoniolupi

Vertical mirrors from Antonio Lupi

Bathroom mirrors are also the specialty of Antoniolupi, a 60-year-old Tuscan company. Their modern mirrors, while less ornate, are equally beautiful, especially for those who prefer clean lines and a more modern feel.

Teatro mirror with cabinets and lights from Anntonio Lupi

More stylish and functional than a builder’s standard wall mirror is the Teatro Model.  The cabinets have mirrored doors and the unit can be hung as a regular wall mirror or installed in the wall, allowing only the mirror to show. It has a very think profile, making it suitable for lightweight walls.  It’s also the perfect bathroom mirror where space is at a premium.

Neutro mirror for bathroom from Antonio Lupi

Antonio Lupi’s Neutro bathroom mirror is simple and stunning.  It has a polished edge and uses LED lighting to make the mirror seem to float on the wall. Available in myriad sizes and orientations, it can be used as a single large mirror or in a set, for design or functional purposes.

Rondo mirror from Antonio Lupi
Luxor mirror from antonio Lupi

Of course, a minimalist look doesn’t mean a modern mirror has to be a square or a rectangle.  Lupe’s collection includes the Luxor mirrors, which come in various shapes with a beveled edge.  Luxor is also available with a colored and silvered glass in fumé, bronze, rosè, blue and aquamarine.

Tom Faulkner

Closer look to lexington mirror
Lexington round mirror and albany

UK-based Tom Faulkner carries art deco mirrors from a range of noted Italian designers as well as distinctive modern metal framed mirrors. Some are available in different finishes and several are also available in different shapes to suit your home’s decor style. Again, their simple lines and versatile style make them a perfect decorative mirror to use as a design element.

Pinch

Pinch Iona Round Mirror Design
Pinch Iona Round Mirror

London-based Pinch’s Iona Mirror — simple, charming and stylish — would be great as a bathroom mirror, but in a living area as well. It can be wall-mounted or purchased as floor mirror, supported on an optional oak chock. The frame is black American walnut.

Kjartan Oskarsson

Kjartan Oskarsson Hanging Mirror With Light
Kjartan Oskarsson Hanging Mirror

While this mirror by Kjartan Oskarsson might look like a simple lighted piece, it is far more than that. His Halo series is “designed to create a new and interesting link between the lamp and the user,” explains his description. The mirror has no visible controls or switch — they are integrated into the light surrounding the mirror. To turn the light on, you rotate it clockwise.  To turn it off, rotate it the opposite way.  In between on and off are dimmer settings.

Porada

Porada diff mirrors

Porada, an Italian company with more than 50 years of handcrafting experience, produces a variety of mirrors for just about every room of your home.  Grouped in a variety of colors and shapes, they make a fine set of wall decor.  Used singly, they are a modern and functional wall piece.  Whether the finish is a natural wood grain, or a colored style, the mirrors are versatile and adaptable for a variety of home decor styles.

Angle porada Mirrors
Closer look to mirror
Wall Porada Rectangle mirror
Freestanding Mirror

Not every mirror needs to be hung on the wall, such as Porada’s Bryant Specchio. While it is a wall mirror, it can be hung or stood on the floor up against the wall. Alone or in a pair, they are marvelous. Yet another style is the cheval mirror, which is attached to a stand and can tilt to accommodate people of different heights.

Sentou

Curved Mirror Design

For mirrors that are more decor than function, Sentou has convex round wall mirrors that are spectacular when grouped on a wall. These acrylic rounds are available in sizes from 21 centimeters to 76 centimeters and could be used anywhere, from a living room to a stairway or office.

A modern mirror can lighten, brighten or expand just about any space in your home.  Placed properly, it will be more than just a functional wall piece — it will be an important part of your home’s decor.