Here we share our mirror above bed design guide including the pros and cons, tips on how to hang a mirror, and other helpful wall hanging ideas and tips to consider.
Your bedroom should be the ultimate haven of peace and comfort, the most important one will always be the bed; and when the bed is placed directly against one of the bedroom walls, it often leaves a wall section just above it that is perfect for a mirror.
A mirror above your bed may look whimsical and fantastic depending on the bedroom’s layout, arrangement of other furniture in the bedroom, and the amount of light that you are comfortable with. Just imagine the mirror reflecting the soft, clear blue of a daytime sky or the fluffy white clouds that appear during a serene afternoon.
If your bedroom design style is in a 1920s interior concept where silver details and accents dominate, placing a mirror above your bed will match the style perfectly—like the delicate frosting on a beautifully designed cake.
For a classic look and a bigger impact, choose a mirror with a distinct color or shape like a sunburst mirror. Try hanging three of your favorite mirror styles together, since grouping mirrors together will also help make a statement.
A bedroom with low ceiling height, and with a large, solid headboard placing a mirror above bed will help the room feel spacious and airier. Placing a mirror above the headboard will allow you to appreciate artwork on the opposite wall from additional vantage points.
If your bed is on the north side of your bedroom, placing a mirror above your bed could attract fruitful and positive energy; since north is the center of Lord Kubera- God of Wealth as classified by the traditional Indian system of architecture known as “vastu shastra”.
Mirrors Above The Bed Pros and Cons
It seems that having mirrors in the bedroom has some impact on our sleep quality than in other rooms since we’re not sleeping there. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of having a mirror in the bedroom.
Pros
Here we share the advantages of having a mirror above the bed.
• Stylish – Interior items, such as a mirror above the headboard, offer aesthetic appeal and make the bedroom look stylish.
• Help Enlarge the Space – Adding a mirror above the bed can make the room appear larger. With the correct arrangement of furniture, big and wide mirrors can create an illusion of a larger room.
So if you have a relatively small room, where the bed is directly across the door, placing a mirror above the headboard will make the room appear more spacious, wider, and freer.
• Brighten the Bedroom – Mirrors can help make the room become much brighter since the surfaces of the mirrors absorb the image and light of a space and make it bounce.
But by placing the mirror directly on top of your bed, it won’t produce any reflected light that may impair your sleep.
• Add Visual Depth – Mirrors create a sense of space, and provide awareness for both brightness and depth. Imagine how serene it can be to step into a small bedroom that has an alluring mirror placed above the bed, an option that adds depth to the space. Its calming reflection can truly enhance the room’s atmosphere.
• Romantic Design – Use round-shaped mirrors to make a connection since they represent unity, romance, and accessibility in Feng shui. The soft edges and infinite circle of a round mirror can be an alluring focal point in your bedroom.
Cons
Here we share some information about the disadvantages of having a mirror above the bed.
• Possible Bad Feng-Shui – Feng Shui is a discipline that believes the way we arrange a room’s furnishings can affect the way energies flow through it.
Unfortunately, Feng Shui guidelines are not very keen on mirrors above beds; especially if the mirror will be facing a door directly or if the mirror ends up reflecting a corner of the bed.
The basic rule of Feng Shui, the ancient belief in energy in a space. Keeping mirrors away from your bed as well as light is said to bring peace and sound sleep. It is best to put a mirror away from your bed and not facing a window.
• Falling Hazard Above Bed – Any hanging mirror could potentially fall and break under the right circumstances. Placing a mirror above your bed can be hazardous.
Since it has a tendency to shatter after it drops, and it might fall on you when you are sleeping and most vulnerable.
How To Hang A Mirror Above Your Bed
On hanging a mirror above your bed, the key is balance. There are some things to consider before hanging a mirror above your bed.
The first thing to take into account is the lighting, it is not just the position that is important but the light around a mirror is essential as well.
Not all mirrors are intended to be hung, some are designed to be tilted. This will make the room look larger and function as an interesting decor piece, presenting new visual options.
When it comes to safely hanging a mirror, a cable wire hung across a single hook or nail is just not enough; make sure that you are hanging the mirror with the proper mounting hardware and that each hook on the back of the mirror requires its own hook in the wall.
The recommended ideal space between a mirror and any furniture below it with a height of about 35 inches is 6 to 8 inches.
However, without a headboard the standard bed height measures at approximately 25 inches; measuring from the top of your mattress to the floor – then an 8 to 12-inch space is best.
If you want the mirror to go above your headboard, make sure there is a five to 10-inch space between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the mirror.
The first step to hanging a mirror above your bed is to determine the mirror weight and making sure that you have the proper hardware.
Most new mirrors have already mounting hardware included and attached to the back such as D-rings, wire, clips, or brackets. If the mirror you have does not have mounting hardware built-in, you need to first install it.
The next step is the need to know your wall type since it will affect how you hang a mirror. Wall types include drywall, plaster wall, or brick.
Once you determine what type of wall you have in your bedroom, decide where you want to hang the mirror, taking into consideration factors like your bedding, other accessories, and the colors in your room.
Mark the corners or edges with painter’s tape or a pencil in order to visualize the mirror placement. During this process, you might have questions about the benefits of placing a mirror in certain locations versus others.
Locate any studs, pipes, or wires in the area by using a multi-function stud finder. If you have a heavy mirror, secure it by drilling one screw into a stud to help support the mirror once hanged. Make sure you avoid drilling through pipes or inserting a screw into live wires.
Make sure that the mirror is leveled, getting the correct measurements are critical in making a mirror level. Read more about types of wall hangers here.
To be sure, start by measuring and marking the top of the mirror with a painter’s tape, then use a level to make sure the line is straight.
Remember to mark the center on the tape, since you’ll need it as a reference point where to place screws and wall anchors.
It is important to level the measurement between the mounting points as well. Using bracket hardware is the easiest you only need to measure the mirror from the top to the bracket as well as the length of the bracket then transfer those measurements to the wall. Then start installing with the middle screw and then level it as you put in the rest of the screws.
The same goes when leveling D-rings or keyholes, measure the mirror from the top to the D-ring or keyhole. Once you have done that, measure the distance between the two mounting points. Reflect these measurements to the wall, making sure that the two mounting points are leveled.
Hanging the mirror using a wire is quite challenging since you’ll need to determine the mounting points yourself. To better distribute the weight of the mirror, we suggest making two points that will distribute the pressure equally across the wire.
Make sure that these two points are not too close together; for a large mirror, having the two points around 12 inches apart is the standard distance and adjust from there.
Once you finalize the distance between these points, measure the distance between the taut wire and the top of the mirror; making sure to level the two mounting points.
Avoid Heavy Mirrors
Since mirrors are robust and fragile, hanging then presents a challenge, especially for drywall and plaster walls because of their size and weight.
It is preferable to hang a heavy object from a stud in the wall, but if the studs are not exactly where you want them, it is best to use wall anchors to secure a heavy mirror.
Avoid using nails or tacks to hang a heavy mirror, instead use quality mounting hardware to keep them secure.
It is all about feeling safe and secure in the bedroom, and it’s hard to feel safe with something heavy hanging directly over your head.
What Does A Mirror Above The Bed Mean?
If we base the correct mirror placement from the Feng Shui philosophy, placing a mirror above the bed is not a good Feng Shui practice for the bedroom.
Mirrors produce constant energy of the Feng Shui element water and any heavy object above our head is not very promising.
Everything in a bedroom should contribute to an atmosphere of peace, and placing a mirror above the bed can hamper a good night’s sleep since it catches light and sound from windows and doors. The focus should be on selecting products that emit only positive energies and place them in a harmonious location.
Feng Shui practice considers that mirrors actually double the existing energies, although it is not technically bad to put mirrors above the bed.
However, it is said that if a mirror reflects your image while you’re sleeping it would mean that it will double whatever chi or luck you have at the moment.
In interior design, placing a mirror above the bed can make that wall space look artsy and bright; it is a great bedroom wall accent idea, especially for small bedrooms.
A popular design concept is placing an eclectic mix of mirrors above the bed, creating an eye-catching display that bounces light around the bedroom.
Mirrors with metallic edges add a little extra shimmer particularly when placed at different heights along the wall it creates an absolutely stunning visual piece.
Mirror Above Bed Ideas
A bigger mirror is better: To make the most of a mirror’s influence in the bedroom and create a focal point on a wall, a large mirror works best.
However, when placing a mirror over the bed, we recommend expanding upward instead of outward. Bear in mind that the mirror should not be wider than the headboard where it is hanging over.
If a large mirror doesn’t work in the open space above your bed, smaller mirrors can be beautiful and striking as well.
Positioning is key: If your room don’t have a window, positioning a mirror near lighting fixtures on the wall above your bed will achieve a similar effect.
It is best to place the mirror above your bed, opposite a reflection of something that would normally make you really happy such as an artwork.
Don’t hang it too high: Hanging a mirror too high over the bed makes the room feel more disconnected.
We suggest that you bring it slightly lower, in order to bring a feeling of a more intimate in space. We strongly advise against cluttering and leaving large gaps between your bed and the mirror.
Complement and contrast: Another idea for incorporating a mirror above your bed is to go for opposites.
For angular bedroom spaces, choose rounder mirrors. If you have a lot of clean lines in the furniture in your bedroom, try to bring in a more ornate mirror since it will add more personality and detail.
Choose interesting frames and combining one with new glass in order to create custom mirrors. Mixing different materials such as metals that have patina instead of very simple finishes and wood will give a curated look.
Go for materials that are seemingly disparate pieces but with the same undertones for a unified and unique look.
Grouping multiple simple mirrors above the bed can look chic. Use mirrors with varying sizes and shapes, but make sure you don’t allow them to reflect each other. Otherwise, this creates a disconcerting fun-house effect.
Round Mirror Above Bed
Circular mirrors look great when mixed with other pieces of art. Try to hang your round mirror either at the center of the headboard and hang other items or artwork around it or have the mirror off-center and keep items or artwork to the right or left of it.
Rectangular Mirror Above Bed
Typically, rectangular mirrors work best on their own depending on the width.
It is not recommended to have a mirror wider than the bed below it because it will overshadow the bed which should be the focal piece in the bedroom.
Rectangular mirrors are best when they are placed in the center of the width of the bed.
Multiple Mirrors
Try to experiment with depth by hanging multiple mirrors above your bed to create an open space that is right for you and the space.
Placing different-sized mirrors can create an interesting effect by multiple mirrors reflecting multiple angles.
- Make sure to balance having enough mirrors above your bed and create a feeling of a bigger bedroom. Keep in mind not to add so many mirrors that your room looks awkward or disarranged.
- If the space on your wall only allows you to place small mirrors, make sure you place them at eye-level on your wall, keep in mind to space them evenly in a row.
See more related content in our article about how to fix a cracked mirror on this page.