Tips For Using Your Vintage Vanity Mirror

A beautiful vintage vanity mirror is not only functional but can be used as an eye-catching decor element as well. Having a quality mirror in your bedroom or vanity room is essential if you want to be able to apply your makeup and style your hair with ease, but it’s important to find one that truly complements your home as well.

Most modern-style vanity mirrors lack any kind of embellishments, opting for pure practicality over aesthetic appeal. While there nothing specifically wrong with this, it does make them somewhat difficult to incorporate into certain settings depending on your decor and the look you want to establish.

A vintage-style mirror, on the other hand, may possess intrinsic artistic value and unique traits that will allow you to better utilize it as a decor piece while still deriving substantial functionality from it as well. This guide will help you get the most out of your vanity mirror by providing placement tips, lighting advice, complementary decor ideas, and more. If you haven’t yet thought about incorporating a beautiful vintage mirror into your bedroom arrangement yet, this guide might change your mind!

Choosing an Optimal Location for Your Vanity Setup

The first important part of using your vintage vanity mirror is to carefully consider its placement. For practical purposes, you want to select an antique vanity table that is large enough for the mirror you have your eye on. You also want to be aware of how the styles of both pieces match up in order to create a look that flows well.

The location of your vanity area should be easily accessible, so you may want to adjust the position of some of your furniture, especially if your bedroom is on the smaller side. Allowing each piece of furniture to have its own space will not only create more visual appeal and help the room feel more balanced, it is also the more practical option. What good is a beautiful vanity if it is frustrating to sit at or offers terrible lighting?

Depending on the layout and size of your bedroom, a few popular spots for a vanity include next to your bed, opposite your bed, or right under a window. This latter option affords a great deal of natural light and would work well for utilizing your vintage-style vanity mirror during the daylight hours.

The most important aspect of deciding on the location of your vanity is how well it works for you. Your mirror should help to enhance the look of your room while providing you with the utility you need to apply your makeup or perform other self-care tasks.

Consider The Height and Direction of Your Lighting

Lighting is important in all aspects of home decoration, but nowhere is it more essential than when it applies to the functionality of your vanity mirror. The wrong lighting can render your mirror useless for all but the most generic of purposes.

As you arrange your vanity area, you want to use natural lighting to your advantage whenever possible, but you also need to consider to proper use of lamps or alternative lighting options as well. The quality and direction of the light sources in your room will determine how usable your mirror is for applying makeup or styling your hair properly.

Ideally, you want your mirror to provide a clear and crisp reflection that eliminates shadows on your face, allowing you to properly apply makeup and perform other personal care tasks without any hindrance. Clear lighting is also important when dealing with any issue involving color, as dull lighting can distort the shade of your makeup and clothing.

It is for this reason that natural lighting, while attractive, is not solely relied upon when arranging a vanity setup. You need to think about utilizing a high-quality standing lamp that can be aimed in a manner that allows for perfect lighting. If you are concerned about keeping the style of your bedroom arrangement within a certain period and would prefer to forgo modern-looking lighting options, a small vintage-style chandelier placed overhead may be ideal in this instance.

Generally speaking, clear overhead lighting is effective if you want to make the most of your vanity mirror, making the right variety of antique chandelier an excellent choice if you want to retain the vintage look of your room. Even if your bedroom is on the smaller side, you will find that there are chandelier options to suit your needs here in our online furniture boutique.

We also carry a variety of other lighting options that will help you create a beautiful and functional vanity area, including sconces and our signature beaded pendants. Taking special care to ensure that your vanity station is well lit will not only enhance the look of your furniture but will also provide far more functionality.

Regardless of the lighting options you select, you want to ensure that the height and direction are adequate enough to illuminate the entire vanity area. This is the only way to ensure that no unwanted shadows interrupt your beauty routine.

Matching Your Vanity Mirror with Your Bedroom Furniture

Your vintage vanity mirror will shine as an elegant decor piece with the right lighting, but it’s also important to match your mirror with the rest of your bedroom furniture if you want that perfect vintage look.

If you want your mirror to match the feel of your bedroom, you need to key in on the most prominent elements of your vintage furniture and seek those same elements in the design of your mirror. Whether you are drawn to whimsical floral carvings or the distressing of the wood, the same features that your other furniture pieces have should be contained in your mirror as well.

By sticking with the same general aesthetic in your vanity mirror, it will be far easier to incorporate it into your bedroom. Most importantly, your vanity table itself and mirror should flow together almost seamlessly, as if they were almost of the same set or carved from the same pieces of wood. While it’s not always easy to find antique furniture pieces that match so closely, you will find that our beautiful selection of high-quality vintage-style reproductions will make your search quite a bit easier.

As you coordinate your bedroom or vanity space, you will want to take note of two points of interest in particular as you match your mirror to the rest of your furniture. One, you want to consider the frame and how the tone or style pairs with the embellishments of your vanity table such as drawer handles and knobs. Two, you want to make sure the mirror is sized appropriately for the location you are placing it in. While many varieties of vintage mirrors are suitable for use as vanity mirrors, not all of them will conveniently fit on all size tables.

A smaller mirror on a large table will appear feminine and delicate but may provide little in terms of lighting value or brightening for your room. It may also not allow as much practical use when performing certain beauty tasks. On the other hand, a large mirror on a too-small vanity table will appear clunky and out of sorts with the atmosphere of the room. It may also bar you from placing all of your personal effects on the table as well, limiting the overall functionality of the mirror.

Ultimately when it comes to crafting the perfect vanity area, you want to strike a fine balance with your mirror and table. Both items should be sized appropriately for the room in question while matching the rest of your decor in terms of style conventions. If your home decor is on the eclectic side, you may have more leeway in terms of mixing and matching items from differing periods, just so long as they match in terms of carvings, wood grain, and other elements.

One last point that is worth noting for helping to align your vintage vanity mirror with the rest of your bedroom furniture, be mindful of the direction the mirror is pointed or how you situate the position of the mirror in relation to light sources such as ceiling fixtures, lamps, and windows. Even smaller mirrors can help make any space feel larger and brighter, so use this to your advantage by allowing natural light or a particular light source to play off the mirror. This is one way to enhance the overall beauty of any room quite easily.

Beautiful Accents For Your Mirror

While a vintage-style vanity mirror is a gorgeous decor item in its own right, you can use certain items to accompany your mirror that will add an extra dimension to your vanity setup. As long as you have the appropriate space on your vanity table, you can utilize it for an array of attractive ideas that will leave you inspired every time you sit down to do your makeup.

Keep in mind as you are arranging your vanity space, as long as you have the room, you can create an artful effect by placing an item in front of the mirror so that it may reflect. This works especially well for floral accents, but you have to be aware not to obstruct your view. Apply the “less is more” principle and you will find that there are a number of ways you can create a beautiful display on your vanity with just a bit of imagination.

One elegant and practical addition you could use to complement your vanity mirror would be the use of books. Placed just off to the side and out of the way but still in view of the mirror itself, these are the perfect accents to create a whimsical look. Having a good book within arm’s reach at your vanity table may serve as a welcome distraction from time to time as well.

Antique pottery can also be used to adorn your vanity table and would look beautiful reflected back in your vanity mirror. You could also utilize a piece such as a worn terracotta bowl to place odds and ends in. As long as they match the general aesthetic you are creating, these would make the perfect addition to your table.

Another element that you could use to enhance the look of your antique-style mirror would be candles. Whether they are placed off to the side or just in view of the mirror, luxury scented candles are great for infusing a little atmosphere into any space and would look stylish reflected back in the mirror.

For something a bit more rustic, you can incorporate loose bunches of seasonal flowers and other elements of nature for a beautiful and fragrant accent that can easily be adapted for different times of the year or styles of decor. If you decided to go the whitewash wood route with your table and your mirror fits this style as well, try adding a sheath of Queen Anne’s lace for a decidedly feminine way to liven up your vanity.

Finding a Vintage-Style Vanity Mirror That Suits You

Our online furniture boutique features an array of different vintage mirrors and vanity tables that will help you create the perfect space for your personal care and cosmetic needs. Regardless of the unique style you want to implement, we have the luxury furniture options you are looking for, ranging from gorgeous traditional items to lovely rustic options that would fit perfectly in your shabby chic home.

Thinking about picking up one of our gorgeous vanity mirrors or are wondering which one might best fit your needs? We would love to talk with you and help you create a vanity setup that fits your needs. Simply give us a call at 310-876-0661 and we would be happy to help you arrange any area of your home with the inclusion of our high-quality furniture options.