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The woman who helped usher the interior design industry into full flower in the United States was prolific in putting out ideas that will help freshen up today's interior design business. Look at our latest Designer Monthly, Interior Design: Look Forward by Looking Back to Dorothy Draper.

Did you ever have a problem designing small spaces?  Take a look at how top interior designers solved this common problem in our latest Designer Monthly, How to Design Small Spaces at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

 

 

 

Thursday
Apr262012

Mirror, Mirror on the Floor!

(Perth Mirrored Chest from Hayneedle)Which furniture is the fairest of them all?  All right, it’s not Snow White but since Hollywood has been churning out endless remakes of this fairytale, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and transform it to an interior design fairytalemy kind of bedtime story!

My client, Miss Dina Dithering, (all names changed to protect them) can’t decide on the style of furniture she wants in her home.  First she wants contemporary then she wants classic.  Last week she loved the silver colors; this week it’s only true blue.  Do you have one of these clients?  We can’t move forward; we’re stuck in a murky, sticky swamp.

I offered her some tempting styles:  how about Scandinavian? Georgian? Arts and Crafts?  NO! She cried, “That style is too cold; that one is too expensive; the other is too heavy!”  And down the line, she crossed them all off.

(Mirrored Chest from Elizabeth Austin)Oy vey, help me. And then like a fairy godmother on speed dial, my vendors came to the rescue!  I was showered with some glorious photos of mirrored furniture. Ahhh, glamorous, contemporary or classic, and they reflect any color in the room. Here were some selections that I showed to my client. The above two were chests: the Perth chest from Hayneedle a more neoclassically-styled chest and the Elizabeth Austin chest, a contemporary version with etched circles.

(Amelie Lingerie Chest from Neiman Marcus)To introduce some old-world glamour into the bedroom, I showed her the Amelie Lingerie chest from Neiman Marcus.  The lingerie chest has a warm golden burnished finish.  Another classically-styled furniture is the Bethel Mirrored Vanity which shows off Greek swags and rosettes with gold painted details.

(Bethel Mirrored Vanity)After some further hemming and hawing, Miss Dina Dithering finally picked a few of the pieces to complement the rest of her furniture in a very eclectic design.  When you want to provide a touch of glamour and an unusual contemporary note, go ahead and bring in mirrored furniture to mix with the usual wood pieces. You may finally get a happily ever after! 

 

Interested in learning more about furniture?  Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design.  At Sheffield, you will learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories. 
 

Reader Comments (12)

Wow they are so beautiful and definitely the way to go if you want to add "glamour" although they do look a bit expensive.
April 26, 2012 | Unregistered Commentermedsempire waqas
I love the glass table. So modern!
I agree - the glass table is really nice :-)
April 27, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAnders Rosenberg
I loved reading your post Alexia! These pieces are really beautiful and very unusual. You really don't see much mirrored furniture around these days.
April 27, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterOffice Filing Cabinet
It looks great, it is worth collecting thank you for sharing.
April 30, 2012 | Unregistered Commenternike frees
It Looks Great indeed! Nice Table.
I really love the design of this table!
May 4, 2012 | Unregistered Commentervrouw-zoekt-man
Love the mirrored chest. Beautiful designs and diversity. Don't see too much of those types of furniture.
May 7, 2012 | Unregistered Commenter101str8media
This looks great, I sooo need to try this soon! Thanks!
May 11, 2012 | Unregistered Commentertiles
The Amelie Lingerie Chest looks great, its an awesome design.
September 25, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBeveled Mirror
Everyone should have a lingerie chest!
October 12, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterHelen

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