Every Room Needs One
Monday, November 19th, 2012
In an Associate Press article, Melissa Rayworth wrote about some ideas for “Letting the Sunshine In” to your home and interior spaces by interviewing HGTV personality Genevieve Gorder, “Design Star” producer Brian Patrick Flynn, and LA designer Betsy Burnham for their best tips. (To view the full article, click HERE.)
• Whatever a person’s taste, “I think almost everybody wants to maximize the light in their living space,” says HGTV host Genevieve Gorder.
• “People can think it sounds a little ’70s or dated, but not if it’s an antiqued mirror and if it’s just a small part of your room,” Burnham says.
• Smaller mirrors can be used anywhere. Line the backs of bookshelves with mirrors or arrange several on one wall. ”If you stick them on your wall, left to right in a diamond pattern, it’s so beautiful and really affordable. You can go across an entire wall,” Flynn says.
What are these three different designer’s easy top tip for bringing more light into a space? MIRRORS. I’ve always claimed it’s the interior designer’s “secret weapon”. It can make a space feel more spacious by visually opening up the space, doubles the light by reflecting the existing light back into the room, and it can even shift view and reflect desired ones to direct the occupant’s gaze. But it’s nice to hear such experts in design take the same stance,…and to call out antique mirrors specifically.
Here are some of the designers’ tips for using mirrors for great effect:
- Antique mirrors have a softer reflection when you’re not needing precise reflection for fuction
- Beautiful custom framing is often worth the price for a perfect piece
- A large “leaner” type mirror allows spaces to feel less cramped
- Small mirrors arranged on a wall draw the eye with excitement and pattern
- Lining a bookshelf with mirrors can highlight a collection, make shallow bookcases feel deeper, or draw the eye
- Using mirror as a tabletopper creates instant, airy glamour on a coffee table












