Making mirrors into masterpieces
Mirrors bring light and expansiveness to a room, which makes them the perfect starting point for further decorating.
With the initial sense of balance and proportion achieved, artworks and other splashes of colour and detail can be incorporated more easily.
Eco Frame and Mirror owner Graeme Patching says smaller rooms especially can benefit from the fresh feel and changing view of a mirror. This is even more the case with spare rooms and guest bathrooms, where homeowners often want a setting that is comfortable as well as impressive.
With this in mind, Eco Frame and Mirror creates high-grade mirrors for smaller spaces using offcuts from its large custom mirrors and boutique framing projects.
It’s an approach that ensures the highest quality along with some serious discounts.
‘‘A guest bathroom or spare room is a great place to show off a bit of style, maybe even be a bit quirky, but it can be hard finding something to fit,’’ Graeme says.
‘‘A circle mirror is a good way to complete these areas and we always have a large selection in stock. We’ve got some really fancy mouldings made up on some of the small mirrors – really ornate and over the top pieces that are very stylish.’’
Among these ‘‘over the top’’ pieces are some of the world’s finest framing materials, ranging from baroque gold-leaf mouldings in the Salvator Rosa tradition to contemporary, highly polished frames from Bellini, whose craftspeople in Italy hand-finish every item.
Framing large artworks inevitably results in offcuts and being able to use these on a beautiful mirror is extremely satisfying, Graeme says.
The mirrors themselves are usually high-grade, 4mm-thick pieces left over from bathroom installations.
Eco Frame and Mirror also has dress mirrors in a variety of sizes at its showroom in Sydenham. These include safetybacked standalone models easily positioned wherever the viewer wants – ideal for a teenager’s room.
Savings of 50 per cent are not uncommon.
For bathroom mirrors, LED lighting can be incorporated to add dramatic effect and practicality.
‘‘We do a lot of float mirrors 15mm off the wall, which gives a nice line and shadow margin around the edge. Or you could have a light on the returning edge going around the mirror. That gives it a lot of presence on the wall plus it increases light around the room,’’ Graeme says.
Eco Frame and Mirror can produce and advise on mirrors for any setting. Framing to modernise or complete an artwork is also available. Consultations are free.
❚ Eco Frame and Mirror is open Monday to Saturday at 394 Colombo St, Sydenham. Call them on 03 377 0223 or visit them online at frameandmirror.co.nz.