Mirrors make light of any dark situation

DEAR GAIL: I love mirrors and have recently purchased a couple of new ones. Where are the best places to hang them? - Millie

DEAR MILLIE: Mirrors are great decorative, as well as functional, artwork. A well-placed mirror can open up a room, change a view or reflect a little of your personality.

Since they also are functional, you do need to take other things into consideration when hanging a mirror versus a regular artwork image. The unique characteristic about mirrors is their reflective quality. So the first thing to consider when hanging any mirror is what will it be reflecting? You never want to reflect the view of a bathroom, kitchen or laundry.

Ask yourself, "Is the image in the mirror something I would want to look at?" Is it reflecting a wonderful view, a lovely floral arrangement or a beautiful room? Or is it reflecting the staircase, a blank wall, hallway doors, dirty dishes in the kitchen sink or the toilet?

As with any rule, there are exceptions. Because of its reflective quality a mirror can double the amount of light in a room. If you have a dark corner, hallway or room, think about using a mirror to grab some light and reflect it to make the area bright and cheery.

One place that I find people hang mirrors is above a fireplace. Again, what is it reflecting? Most of the time, it's just reflecting a high blank wall, so all you are seeing, especially at night, is a large black hole. Unless it's across from a window and only if you need the additional light, find a more useful location and attractive image to reflect.

Along with reflecting light, mirrors will double the visual space in a room. If you have a small bedroom, consider hanging mirrors above your nightstands. Besides the extra light you'll be getting from your lamps, it will add depth to the room when you enter.

Do you only have one window? Hang a mirror where it reflects the window, giving the illusion of another window in the room.

You also can add large-scale mirrors to expand a room or flank a fireplace or entertainment wall with floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

If you're building in bookcases, have mirrors installed on the backs. It will make the room appear larger, plus you'll have the added decorative value of reflecting your accessories. If you do this and are adding lights to the unit, remember to use glass shelves instead of wood, otherwise the light will only shine on the top shelf.

If you have two or three floor-length mirrors, connect them together with piano hinges and use as a floor screen to light a corner of a room. In front of the screen, place a grouping of plants with an uplight for a dramatic effect at night.

Large floor-length mirrors also are great conversation pieces when they are just leaning against a wall.

When doing this, you want the mirror to be at least three-fourths as tall as the wall. Plus, it creates instant square footage to any room.

Smaller mirrors are great to use as decorative trays, table tops, place mats and wonderful with a group of candles lit on top. For those who don't use their fireplaces or during our summer heat, the firebox is perfect for a mirror behind pillar candles to reflect their soft, flickering light. Use battery operated candles if you don't want the mess or worry from a standard candle.

Don't be afraid to go larger with your mirrors; just make sure that they are "grounded." Any piece of artwork, but especially mirrors, because of their visual weight, need to have something placed under them to keep them from looking like they are floating on the wall. You can ground a mirror with a piece of furniture or simply a tree or floor plant.

If you're using a floor plant to ground a mirror, make sure that it is tall enough to at least touch the bottom of the frame.

If you have lots of mirrors, do the unexpected and hang a smaller piece of art right on top of the mirror. The mirror will function as a backdrop or frame for your art.

Don't forget the obvious places above a dresser in a bedroom, over a buffet in your dining room, or in your foyer for you and your guests to make a quick hair and makeup check.

When hanging a mirror, never just hang it on a nail. Always spend the few extra cents to purchase heavy-weight art hangers. Use two hangers instead of one and heavier hangers if you are unsure for extra strength.

Never wire a mirror if it was not wired by the manufacturer. Doing so could cause the hangers to pull out of the frame. I know hanging with a wire is easier than dealing with measuring and leveling when you have two hooks, but you don't want it falling off the wall.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by email to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.