Almost everyone needs a large mirror in the bedroom to see an outfit head to toe and get ready in the morning. In a small room there is often no space for a separate mirror, so the wardrobe doors become mirrored. This saves space, but a mirror doubles everything in the room: light, movement and mess. Where and how it goes deserves some thought in advance.
Where the mirror should be relative to the bed
Most complaints concern a large mirror directly facing the bed. Someone waking at night may be startled by their own movement or by a reflection of light from the window. Reflections of a streetlight, TV standby light or phone charger can also make the room brighter than expected. Not everyone is equally bothered by this, but for many people it affects how well they sleep.
More comfortable options include:
- Putting the mirrored doors on a wall beside the bed, so the mirror is not directly visible from the pillow.
- If the wardrobe faces the bed, mirroring only one end door rather than the whole front.
- Placing the mirror inside the wardrobe, on the back of a door or on a pull-out panel, so it is there when needed and hidden at night.
- On a sliding wardrobe, arranging the mirrored panel so it can be slid to the side you use during the day.
Light and a sense of space
A mirror reflects daylight from the window into the room and makes a narrow space look deeper. The effect works best when the mirror is on a wall perpendicular to the window. Directly opposite the window, a mirror can bounce morning sun straight towards the bed.
Think about what will be reflected, too. If the mirror shows a tidy wall, curtains or an attractive lamp, the room seems larger. If it reflects a chair piled with clothes, an ironing board or an open shelf, the clutter appears twice.
To see yourself well in the mirror, the direction of light matters as well. Light should fall on the person standing in front of the mirror, not on the mirror itself. If the lamp is behind you, above or behind your head, your face and clothes end up in shadow. Soft light placed above or beside a mirrored wardrobe makes getting ready in the morning much easier, and at night you can switch on just that light and leave the rest of the room dark.
Types of mirror
Several kinds of mirror are used on furniture doors:
- Standard silver mirror: the most accurate reflection and the most common choice.
- Tinted mirror in bronze, grey or graphite: it softens the reflection, creates a calmer bedroom atmosphere and reduces the night-time effect.
- Frosted patterned mirror: part of the surface is sandblasted; decorative, but the reflective area is smaller.
- Mirror combined with board or glass panels: this divides the door into sections and reduces the heaviness of a large mirrored surface.
A tinted mirror shifts colours slightly, so if it will be your main mirror for choosing clothes, it makes sense to keep at least one section in standard mirror.
Safety and technical points
On wardrobe doors, mirrors are usually fitted with a protective safety film on the back. Even if the mirror cracks from a knock, the film keeps shards from falling out. This matters especially near a child's room or in busy spots.
Mirrored doors are heavy. Hinged doors need more hinges according to their weight, and on sliding systems the profiles and rollers must be rated for the mirrored panel. Noise matters in a bedroom as well: soft-close mechanisms reduce the sound of doors being opened and closed at night.
A comfort check before deciding
You can test how a mirror will work in your bedroom before committing. Lean a large mirror, or even a piece of mirror film on a board, in the planned spot temporarily, switch on the evening lights and look from the bed. A few questions also help:
- Is the mirror directly visible when you lie in bed?
- Are the window, a streetlight or a screen reflected in it?
- Is there enough distance in front of it to see yourself head to toe?
- Which door is mirrored, and is it the one you open most often?
- If you choose tinted mirror, is there another mirror for judging colours accurately?
When ordering a mirrored wardrobe for the bedroom from Zaferoglu Mebel, which door carries the mirror and what kind it is can be settled in the design by checking where the bed, window and lamps are.
