Framed mirror vs painting - which makes a small living room feel bigger?

I hung a large framed mirror in my 10x12 living room in Austin last month thinking it would open the space up. Instead it just bounced light into one corner and made the room feel weirdly lopsided. My neighbor has a big landscape painting in almost the same spot and her place somehow feels bigger than mine. Has anyone else run into this where mirrors backfire or did I just pick the wrong spot for it?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.henry12d ago

Read somewhere that mirrors work best if they reflect a window or an actual view, otherwise they just bounce dead space back at you. Sounds like your neighbor's painting gives the eye something to focus on instead.

matthewgonzalez12d ago

Yeah, that part about "bounce dead space back at you" really stuck with me too, @coleman.henry. I've seen it in my own place. I hung a mirror across from a blank wall once and it just made the room feel emptier somehow. Like it doubled the nothing instead of adding anything. The painting your neighbor has must break that up, gives your eye a place to rest. I think that's the real trick with mirrors, you need something worth reflecting. Otherwise it's just a glass hole.