What do people think of mirrored walls these days? I have a house built in the 70's that has a mirrored wall in the dining room, living room, and behind the wet bar. The silver is getting a bit long in tooth, so I need to do something. I'm thinking more in terms of resale value right now than my own tastes. Should I just rip them out and plaster? Replace with better looking mirrors? I don't recall seeing them used much (if any) on any decorating shows... are they completely passe?

Thx,

JeffJ

1970s is out. For resale get rid of the mirrors. Go with neutral colors everywhere. Potential buyers prefer move in ready and the ability to envision their own decor and colors. Clean. Declutter. Stage your home for sale. Watch HGTV! Lots of shows on getting your house ready to sell.

Mirrors are still 'in', if what they are reflecting, is worth it. By that I mean, if you have a $1M view, then a mirror reflecting that view, is still 'in'.

However, if the mirrors are reflecting nothing of any worth, then I would remove them.

Mirrored walls are back, but not if they're old and funky. So it kind of depends. If they're not bad, clean them up and use some more modern accessories and paint color. It could actually be an asset.

Not a mirrored wall...but my sister took an antique door...refinished it, and stuck a mirror in it. It actually gives her quite a bit of life to the wall. Mirrored walls out!

Depends on the size of the mirror, you could dress it up inexpensively, buy some real chunky thick molding and adhere a frame around the mirror. You could make a beautiful statement! Or try spray frost around the outside of the mirror like I did in a episode of Decorating Cents. You could do more than one border of the frosted spray you could do a 8 inch frosted border, tape it off with 1 1/4 inch tape and do another 4 1/2 inch frosted spray border. Depending on the mirror size. Have fun.
Kelli Kaufer

I think chintzy mirrored tiles (especially if the edges are showing that kind of discoloration in the silver backing) are "out" ... but a mirrored wall (in solid sheets of mirror) can look great, and add a lot of light to a dark area. My parents live in a very nice neighborhood, and their (dining) room which they use for their grand piano and some antiques is very dark, so they added an entire mirrored wall to bounce light in from the windows on the other side of the hallway. It really makes the space feel more open and brighter.

I would say that if you're going to sell, you should just tear down the old mirrored tiles (esp. if they look worn out) and just put some new fresh drywall or plaster and paint on it.

Are they tiles or one big mirror? If tiles, yes, rip them down. But if they are one big piece then work with them to make them more attractive!

Interesting question. I've got a mirrored wall in the LR (came with the house.) It's tiles, about 2 ft. by 2 ft. with beveled edges. The thing was professionally done.

I used to HATE that thing. My style is American antiques, federal period. That mirror wall was driving me nuts (I hate having to drag out a ladder to clean it.)

Right across from it, on the opposite wall, I have a wall mounted hanger which I use to display graphic antique quilts I rotate.

Well, I'll tell you, the mirror not only really DOES make the room look larger, but you really don't notice it (I only notice it because I keep watching for it to get dirty, which drives me crazy.) It reflects the entire quilt; in fact, you can see the quilt from outside, reflected in the mirror.

The mirror really was an excellent idea. The quality of these tiles is great; no silvering. They look brand new (I know they aren't.)

I've been thinking about replacing the tiles (they're glued onto a backer, which I believe is screwed into the wall.) If I replaced it, I might just call up a mirror place and ask them to install one-piece mirror instead.

Is there anything in walled mirrors that IS fashionable these days?

Churchstreet, sounds like the same type of mirrored wall a friend has. The depth it adds to the room is unbelievable, she thought about taking it down but everyone loved it, so it's still there. I think she would be surprised at how much it adds to the room if sshe takes it down.

btw, saw mirrored tiles installed "on point"
know that is not the right term, it was great.

What I have are the large vertical sheets of glass. Three in the dining room and four in the media area of the great room. (They face each other... lots of fun with a laser pointer!)

One thing I saw in a friends home that I've thought of doing is to just use one of those sheets mounted horizontally with a wood trim frame around it. Has anyone ever tried (and succeeded!) to remove one of those sheets intact?

Probably moot though. Looks like the big layoff is happening sooner rather than later, so I'm not likely to be in any financial position to do anything major before I'm forced to sell the house.

Sorry about the impending layoff. As for the mirrored walls, I think as the other posters said, it depends. I just saw a dream room in a mag & it had big sheets of mirror on the walls vertically, behind the end tables that flanked the sofa. The room is the living room of designer, Julie Chaiken (clothing designer). I have also heard, like Old Man Walt said, that it depends on what the mirror is reflecting. Don't have any stuck on mirrors myself,but I think to say that they are totally passe, is not thinking outside the box. For anyone that thinks they are only "out", take a look at that Chaiken living room.

I always sort of cringe when I hear certain designers say that "mirrors are out". Case in point...Candace Olson does beautiful rooms with mirrored walls. However it truely does depend on what a mirror will reflect. I have mirrored doors in my aparatment and just love them. They make the space appear so much larger.

We looked at a large home (over 5,000 sq. ft.)built in the 70's that had alot of mirrors in the DR and Kitchen, it really did date the place as well as the green carpet they didn't change. The Realtor was very surprised that the owners had not updated and especially in that price range, me too. I would say remove or tone them down. Somehow the 70s stuff isn't in vogue, not yet. Just my opinion.

Hi, Annie...

I know what you mean, "on point." Set on the diagonal (like a quilt.)

these tiles are set straight. They have little beveled mirrors (like 2 inches) set on the diagonal where four of the mirrors' corners meet.

Like I said, it looks new, no wear. It's definitely not what I would've chosen, but I think the concept of a mirrored wall where this one is was really a stroke of brilliance. It definitely "disappears" when it's reflecting something interesting, in this case, a graphic antique quilt.

I'd like to replace it, but with all the work I have to do on this house, it's not at the top of the list. This is one of those cases where "the fashion" is simply wrong. I prefer to stick to being uber fashionable with clothing and accessories; it's a lot cheaper and easier to fix if you make a mistake!

I love my d/r mirrored wall. Would never think of changing it. The 3 pieces have a beveled stip in between them and it looks great. Keeps the room from being so dark.

If you're thinking of resale time, get rid of the mirrors. They would definitely say 70's and not in a good way.

Does anyone know of a website with good design pix of mirrored walls?

And has anyone seen where designers hang a smaller mirror in front of, or over, a walled mirror? I was wondering what the rules are with that.

There's lots of cool things you can do with a mirrored wall, too... You could use contact paper to cut out a stenciled graphic design or patterns and then attach it to the mirror, and use that glass-etching cream to make sections of the glass become frosted in texture. That would maybe make a mirrored wall look more updated - (adding rows of squares or circles would look cool, or concentric ovals or something fun like that.)

I've also seen people use the glass drill-bit to anchor artwork and other things like tapestries over the top of a large wall mirror, thereby giving the reflective surfaces new color to bounce around. (Of course this would require caution, and careful measurement, because once you drill into the glass there's no going back.)

You could also use clear suction cups to hang light-weight decor onto the mirror surface... maybe some wreaths or papier-mache sculptural / three-dimensional elements that could stick out from the mirrored glass...

*Just some ideas for sprucing up a mirrored wall if you're tired of it.*

Hello everyone...I can't believe I found this post...My wife and I just bought a house (built in 1975) and the formal living room and formal dining room have floor to ceing mirrors. Actually, look under "General Remodeling" and you will see my post...Bottom line...We were going to have the seller remove them but we decided to do it ourselves. If a glass/mirror company wants to buty them off us...great. If not oh well. They MUST come down though. Total '70's look to it. Or, on second thought, based on some of these ideas I just read, we may be able to work with them. I do know that if we pull them down, we will probably have to put up new sheetrock. That's fine, I can handle that. I'd just hate to see them go out with the trash. They are in great condition and hopefully we can find someone to take them and put them to good use. Any other ideas or ways to remove them would be greatly appreciated...Thanks

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Originally posted by DESIGNENE:


I've also seen people use the glass drill-bit to anchor artwork and other things like tapestries over the top of a large wall mirror, thereby giving the reflective surfaces new color to bounce around. (Of course this would require caution, and careful measurement, because once you drill into the glass there's no going back.)

You could also use clear suction cups to hang light-weight decor onto the mirror surface... maybe some wreaths or papier-mache sculptural / three-dimensional elements that could stick out from the mirrored glass...

*Just some ideas for sprucing up a mirrored wall if you're tired of it.*

I never had much luck with the suction cups. They'd work for a few months, then drop the picture frame to the ground. Fortunately, never got broken glass. I solved the picture hanging problem by getting a length of brass chain and some paper clips. The paper clips were hooked over the very top of the mirror and are used to suspend the chain down to picture hanging height, then the frame attached to the chain. Some double stick tape can help with keeping the picture even, if necessary.

quote:

I can't believe I found this post...My wife and I just bought a house (built in 1975) and the formal living room and formal dining room have floor to ceing mirrors. Actually, look under "General Remodeling" and you will see my post...Bottom line...We were going to have the seller remove them but we decided to do it ourselves. If a glass/mirror company wants to buty them off us...great. If not oh well. They MUST come down though. Total '70's look to it. Or, on second thought, based on some of these ideas I just read, we may be able to work with them. I do know that if we pull them down, we will probably have to put up new sheetrock. That's fine, I can handle that. I'd just hate to see them go out with the trash. They are in great condition and hopefully we can find someone to take them and put them to good use. Any other ideas or ways to remove them would be greatly appreciated...Thanks

Try posting on craigslist.com (there will be a local one near you.) Great way to get rid of useful things you don't want to go to the landfill.