Some rooms in my home tend to be on the darker side (as in light-wise, not Star Wars-wise)– thanks to the placement of my house in relation to the sun as well as having no outside windows in my living room. I thought I had to live with the darkness in certain spots until I started playing with hanging mirrors to bring in more natural light. My entryway was one of those areas that never seemed to have enough light, and there’s nothing welcoming about a dark and dreary entryway when greeting visitors and family to your home– yuck, right?
Here’s a BEFORE photo to show you how gloomy it was before adding mirrors:
After giving the hallways a good paint job, adding a gold ginkgo knob on our coat closet, and painting the front door (remember the HELLO?) the walls were just begging for light. Like, as I would walk by I could hear the walls begging: “Carrie, LET THERE BE LIGHT!”
Those walls were right, it was time to get our shine on.
Remember when I gilded this Hollywood Regency thrift store mirror and hung it a little off center and in your heads you guys were all like, “are you on crack? that mirror is WAY off center, sister!”
BEFORE adding some friends, this mirror was lonely and off-center and
posting selfies on Facebook looking for sympathy:
I promised you then I had a master plan, and I did. Only took two months for it to come together. SIGH.
By the way, can you guess why my mirrors are only covering the top half of the wall?
BINGO! The mirrors are above the danger zone when it comes to little hands (and feet, and heads…) If you don’t have kids or they are older, it would look stunning to fill the entire wall.
This easy decor idea takes just minutes. Gather up all your mirrors. If you don’t have any mirrors to use, here’s a few quick sources to find them in a hurry:
- thrift stores– just add paint!
- HomeGoods
- One Kings Lane (sign up through my affiliate link and get a $15 credit off your first order!)
- T.J. Maxx and Marshalls
- Kohls
- Michaels– make your own, you DIYer, you!
In fact, I whipped up a source list with prices for you. I bought the small round one just a few weeks ago, the rest I’ve had for months or years:
You can totally hang them in 15 minutes. Simply make sure to have your tools on hand:
- level
- ruler
- pencil
- screwdriver
- anchors and screws
I’m pretty lazy when it comes to hanging things. I had a general idea of what I wanted, and used the gilded mirror as home base. Then I added the other large mirror, the white/gold one underneath, and the round mirror to finish it up. Most mirrors are fairly heavy, so I’d advise you to use anchors with screws when you hang them.
Now they all live in harmony and light pours into this space!
Except did you know it’s really hard to photograph mirrors? I had to clean up my entire kitchen and dining room for you guys, the mirrors can see every room and I know you didn’t want to view my piles of laundry. 😉
In fact, the entire sight line from my kitchen to my {also dark} living room has been brightened.
Here’s the BEFORE and AFTER to remind you of how my entryway used to scare visitors away:
Isn’t the AFTER so much dreamier? My walls are happy. I KNOW THIS.
Do you have a room in your home that could use some light? 15 minutes plus a few mirrors and you’ll be golden!
How to Hang a Basket Wall is Day 10 in the 31 Days of 15 Minute Decorating Ideas series. Subscribe in the header to get each quick decorating idea delivered to your inbox daily, and find of the rest of the 15 minute decorating ideas series here.
{How to Add Light to Dark Rooms is linking up with: Serenity Now | Home Stories A to Z | Monday Funday | Nifty Thrifty Sunday}
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Love what you did with just mirrors! I have dark rooms in my house, will try this! Love the look!
Great idea! I have to do this in my living room, above my desk area. It gets so dark in here!
And I just realized that this will lighten up the room without electricity — very green!
WOW those mirrors really did add so much more light!
Ooo, it looks lovely! Great job. I have lots of windows, so not too many dark zones. Actually we have too many bright zones! 🙂
I need you to spend a week at my house!
I love this! We too have a really dark hallway and need to lighten it up a bit. I am SO doing this..off to find some great yardsale mirrors:)
LOVE this tip! My family room is so dark. I want to do this in there!
That looks terrific. I love how you mix and match the mirrors. They look great.
I have a dark wall begging for this treatment. Merci!
In all fairness, a “before” picture should be staged within the same lighting elements as an “after” picture comparison. In your “before” pic you had the front door closed. This obviously drastically limits the light in the picture. In the “after” the door is wide open. Again, to state the obvious, this flooded the hallway with tons of natural light!! Not a very true comparison!
I can see why you’d think that if you didn’t read the entire post, but if you scroll down to where I have just one mirror in the hallway (with the gold console table) you can actually see that the front door is wide open in the background (it’s 180 degrees open, totally flat against the back wall). The hallway is still very, very dark. Once I added additional mirrors, they reflected the dining rooms windows and therefore brought tons of light into the space. So door open or door closed the hallway is still dark until you reflect the light from the adjoining room. Hope that helps you see a true comparison and make a better decision about whether this tip would work in your home!