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Maximise Your Outside Space with a Garden Mirror
Using a garden mirror can be both aesthetically pleasing and practical. It can create the illusion of space and maximise light. And a well-placed garden mirror can maximise your backyard space or reflect particular areas of your garden. But there are also considerations to bear in mind.
Are Garden Mirrors Different to Indoor Mirrors?
There are specially designed mirrors that are just for outdoor use. The good ones can be really expensive and the cheaper ones are often made from plastic or metal. The latter variety are really not so good.
The reflections are often warped and wobbly, which doesn’t give a good illusion of space. They can bounce light around but the reflections are definitely not the best. Think ‘hall of mirrors’!
Every garden mirror I’ve installed has actually been for the home. They’ve been good quality and have lasted for years.
Are Garden Mirrors Safe?
This was one of the main questions I asked before installing our garden mirror.
I was worried about birds flying into it, just as they do with the windows on the odd occasion. But the advice I was given was to choose the placement of the mirror really carefully, which really worked for us.
Think Carefully About Placement
Many people worry about putting mirrors outside in case birds fly into them. But this happens a lot less than you might think. It’s suggested that frosting the surface of the mirror — or allowing it to weather without polishing over time — is a great way of deterring birds. But, in my experience, the best solution is the placement of the mirror.
Choose a spot where birds aren’t likely to be flying directly towards. In the shady corner of a garden, patio or on a wall, nestled within climbing plants, are all good locations. These areas can also benefit from the additional light mirrors will bring too.
Avoid Direct Sunlight
Something else to consider when thinking about the placement of any mirror is to be mindful of reflecting direct sunlight. Just as you have to be careful when hanging mirrors or crystals indoors. Or not putting a light-reflecting vase on a window-sill, so you don’t set your curtains or sofa cushions on fire, you need to make sure a garden mirror won’t focus the sun directly onto anything that could burn easily.
Make sure you place your mirror in a shadier area. Or angled away from direct sunlight (and flight paths) and it should be totally safe.
Some Pros of Installing a Mirror in Your Garden
Adding a mirror to your garden is not only a great design trick to create interest, it has other benefits too. Here are the main advantages of adding a garden mirror.
Creates an Illusion of Space
Mirrors can make a garden appear larger. They reflect the surrounding greenery and sky, which will create the illusion of depth and space.
Adds Visual Interest
Adding a garden mirror can introduce visual interest. Use them to create focal points in the garden, especially in areas where there may not be much going on otherwise.
Enhances Light
Mirrors can help to reflect natural light into darker corners of the garden. This will improve overall brightness and create a more inviting atmosphere.
Decorative Element
Garden mirrors come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, from porthole-style circular mirrors to ones that look like arched windows. Each offers a decorative element that can complement different garden styles and themes.
Provides Privacy
Strategic placement of mirrors can even provide privacy. You can use them to block views into certain areas of the garden, especially in urban or overlooked spaces.
Some Cons of Installing a Garden Mirror
Just as adding a mirror to your garden can have great benefits, there are also a few disadvantages that you should take into account when thinking of installing one.
Weathering
Outdoor mirrors are exposed to the elements, which can lead to weathering. Expect rust or degradation of the reflective surface over time. Bear this in mind when you’re selecting a mirror. Don’t use an expensive antique — or favourite — mirror outside, without acknowledging that it may get weathered or damaged if left out in the garden.
Maintenance
Mirrors require regular cleaning to maintain their reflective quality. This maintenance is required even more so in an outdoor environment where they can quickly accumulate dirt, dust, and watermarks.
Glare
Depending on the angle and placement, mirrors may create glare that can be uncomfortable for viewers, especially on sunny days. Plus, as I’ve already mentioned above, be mindful of the placement of your mirror. This will help to prevent birds from flying into them. Plus, angling away from direct sunlight will reduce the risk of fire.
Potential Hazards
Another potential hazard caused by mirrors in the garden is that if they are placed in a high-traffic area (or in a place that could cause confusion or disorientation) you could find yourself walking into one!
Clash of Aesthetics
Choose your garden mirror carefully. In some cases, the style of mirror may not blend well with the natural surroundings. This could lead to a clash of aesthetics rather than enhancing the overall look of the garden.
Before installing a garden mirror, it’s essential to consider these factors carefully. This will ensure that it fits with your garden’s design, maintenance requirements, and safety considerations.
A Garden Mirror in Our Cottage Garden
Our garden has been amazing over the last few weeks.
I’ve never seen so many blooms on the rose plants before. And the alliums that we planted last year have been flowering for the first time.
I’ve spoken about our garden many times on the blog.
It’s a decent size — not too big, not too small — surrounded by mellow, red brick walls.
Those Victorians really knew a thing about garden design didn’t they? Even the most modest space takes on a grand feel if it’s enclosed by a wall.
And also gives the sense of being in a real-life ‘secret garden’.
Adding Light to a Dark Corner with a Garden Mirror
As our garden walls are eight foot high — and and some cases feel even higher due to the ivy growing above them — some areas of the garden can feel quite dark.
One way to add a little bit of light to a dark corner is by using a garden mirror.
A strategically placed mirror will illuminate even the gloomiest corner and also give tantalising glimpses into other areas.
Creating an Outdoor Room with a Garden Mirror
Another reason for adding a garden mirror — as well as giving the illusion of space and adding light — is it’s a great way of creating a little open-air ‘room’.
These days decorative items like mirrors and lights aren’t just banished to the home. There are so many fantastic options, built to withstand the elements.
You can create gorgeous garden rooms using lighting, strings of waterproof fairy lights, and lanterns.
Add cushions and throws to outdoor furniture and hang mirrors on walls and fences to add interest and texture.
There are so many amazing designs out there too; to perfectly suit any style of garden.
From ultra modern, with sleek and shiny frames, to vintage chic or industrial.
I’ve just added one to one of the darkest parts of our garden. I chose a gorgeous full length window pane door mirror in a vintage style frame and it’s amazing the difference it’s made.
It really bounces the light around and gives the corner a totally different aspect.
I love the way that other areas of the garden are reflected in the panes; it’s really given the impression of more space as well as light. I’m so pleased with it.
Delighted, too, to see that my boys are beginning to take after their great-grandparents and are developing a real love for gardening.
Even at such a tiny age they love being in the garden and helping their dad out.
So sweet to see them helping and learning all about the veg he grows in the allotment. And lovely to see them enjoying our outside space too.
I never tire of our garden.
Especially when it puts on a show like it has this summer.
This post was first published June 20, 2017.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
Your garden is beautiful! What an incredible space. We have a Victorian house but no Victorian garden to match. Love it – and that mirror works beautifully x
Thanks ever so much Donna — I’d like to take full credit for it but I can’t!! We’ve added to it over the years but it was definitely those clever Victorians who created such a lovely space :) xx
Your garden is SO beautiful, I’m incredibly jealous and I completely agree about brick walls to make a garden seem so grand. Mirror looks gorgeous X #HomeEtc
Thanks lovely — I really cant take vey much credit for it. We’ve definitely added to it since we’ve been here but fundamentally a walled garden is a lovely thing isn’t it? :)
I love the idea of the mirror and it looks so good, but I am massively worried about fire hazards with mirrors and always shut my blinds in the house on a hot day in case the sun rays hit any mirrors…not sure I could cope with one outside lol! #homeetc
Same!!! All the mirrors in our home are angled well away from windows!! My mum worked for the fire service for 25 years — the stories she can tell! Thankfully the outdoor mirror occupies a shady corner — no need to worry about a fire hazard in this instance :)
I love the idea of a walled garden, the red brick and the plants growing up it look so nice together. The mirror makes it look like a window to another secrete part!
They were so clever weren’t they, those Victorians. Those walls were built to last — not like modern fences that blow down in a heavy wind!! :)
Wow…. I am in love with your garden. It is really very beautiful. I liked the idea of decorating the garden with mirror, it is unique and nice.
Thanks so much Alina — that’s so kind of you :)