Layering Art With Mirrors

A client who has recently moved into a new, much larger house, was struggling with what to do with several small pieces of art that, while holding sentimental value, simply looked too small for her much larger rooms. One solution would have been to have the small pieces reframed with thicker mats and larger scaled frames. But neither the client nor I wanted to overwhelm the pieces with frames and mats that dwarfed them. The solution we came up with was unique and worked very well to accomplish our goals. On the large wall we wanted to hang the pieces on, we had two large custom framed mirrors made. The scale of these mirrors suited the room, and echoed the mirrored nightstands on an opposite wall. Then, on these large mirrors, we hung the small pieces of art directly to the mirror. The result is striking!

Now, you'll have to wait to see my finished project...we're still waiting on a custom rug and a few more pieces of furniture. But here are some photos of similar setups to inspire:

Here, mirrored tiles visually expand a small living room, and the designer affixed sconces to the mirror. I bet it looks great at night when those candles are lit!

Diamond mirrored tiles fill a niche between bookcases...a perfect backdrop for the oil painting and sconces.

A mirrored wall reflects the crystal in this traditional room, and serves as a backdrop for the large floral oil painting.

Companion pieces of art hang on the mirrored walls flanking this fireplace.

Mirrored paneling and a muted color scheme make for a striking space. The abstracts hung on the mirror leap off the wall.

This is the photo that inspired my client's room. Similar to what we did, a large framed mirror serves as a backdrop for several small mismatched pieces of art...bringing them together into one cohesive piece.

A closeup of the room pictured a few photos up...mirrored walls on either side of the fireplace serve as a backdrop for art.

And the opposite side of the room above features more mirrored walls with art hanging.

You are probably wondering what I was...how do you make it work? Well...there are a few answers. If you're committed to the idea, or hanging something particularly heavy, you'll need to pre-plan the spots where the art attaches to the mirror and have the glass company drill holes or cut openings in the mirror itself so the hanging hardware can attach directly to the wall behind. For lighter pieces, and for flexibility in moving the pieces around, or later removing them altogether, consider using professional mounting squares, velcro, or Command-type hooks. One caution...you want the art to hang as flat against the mirror as possible, otherwise you see a reflection of the back of the frame. So remove any big picture wire hooks before trying this.

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