Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Haven't you noticed that if there is something that really strikes your fancy, you find yourself using it throughout your entire house? For me, it's the color blue that makes appearances in every room in my home. For others, it might be Chinoiserie, porcelain vegetables, black and white photography, or...mirror. Yes, mirror.

My friend Jean loaned me her copy of The House and Garden Book of Classic Rooms last weekend, and while looking through the book I noticed several photos of the Paris apartment of designer Claude Vicario de la Iglesia. I like the apartment's high style look, but what really caught my eye was the designer's use of mirror throughout much of the apartment! (By the way, I think that exclamation point is warranted as it's not often that you see a home with this much mirror.) Even the bedroom was treated to it, though thankfully not on the ceiling.

I'm not sure what the explanation was for this copious use of mirror. The rooms seem spacious enough, so I don't think mirror was used to make the rooms appear larger. Then again, the rooms' perceived sizes might be the mirrors working their magic. I don't have an answer, but I do think it's interesting. See for yourself:




In the dining room/library, seen both above and at the top of the post, mirror lines the wall behind the sideboard as well as the wall that runs perpendicular to the bookshelves. Note too the mirrored panels on the doors.






The living room has all kinds of mirror, including a framed one over the fireplace as well as a mirrored wall along one side of the room. Even the door frame is surrounded by mirror.




Not to be denied, the bedroom too has mirrored walls both behind the bed and along the side wall, though that wall is curtained.

All photos from The House and Garden Book of Classic Rooms by Robert Harling.