A mirror is one of the few things in a room that does actual work — it bounces light, it makes a narrow hallway feel wider, it gives you one last look before you leave the house. Hang it in the wrong spot, at the wrong size, and none of that happens. Here's how to get both right.
Start with what it needs to reflect, not the wall it needs to fill
The instinct is to pick a mirror that fits the empty wall. Better instinct: pick a mirror that reflects something worth reflecting — a window, a light source, a piece of art across the room. A mirror facing a blank wall just repeats the blank wall.
Entryway: hang it where you actually pause
Above a console table, roughly eye level for most of the household, is the classic spot for a reason — it's the one place everyone in the house stops moving for two seconds. A mirror here doesn't need to be enormous; something in the 50–70 cm range on its longest side comfortably fills the space above a standard console without overwhelming it.
Bedroom: give it room to breathe
A dresser or a blank wall opposite the window both work well. Leave at least 10–15 cm of wall visible around the frame — a mirror crammed edge-to-edge against furniture or a doorframe reads as an afterthought, not a design choice.
Sizing, roughly
A mirror hung above a piece of furniture generally looks right somewhere between half and two-thirds the width of that furniture. Wider than the console beneath it, and it looks like it's floating past the edges; much narrower, and it gets lost.
Shape changes the room, not just the wall
A rectangular mirror is the safe, expected choice. A softer silhouette — oval, arched, or something more organic — does something a straight-edged mirror doesn't: it breaks up all the right angles a room usually has already, from doorframes to furniture edges, and reads as a deliberate choice rather than a default.
A practical example
Wall Mirror Radovan — €119.95
A cloud-shaped mirror with soft scalloped edges, 60 × 40 cm — close to the sweet spot for a standard console table, and a shape that breaks up a room's straight lines on its own.
Shop Wall Mirror Radovan →This is one piece of a bigger decision. For the fuller framework on judging quality before you buy anything for your home, see How to Spot Quality Home Décor Before You Buy →