Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Reflections


Things just got a lot more polished around here. My glass and mirror guy made his first trip to the apartment this week to create some reflective magic. This time the focus is on closets in the bedroom and bathroom - the first of several trips for him…

My bedroom closets are reclaimed French doors with clear glass panes. Mirror hides the mess inside, and draws light in from the outside. I prefer having it on both sides so they look pretty open or closed. This trick is common in old houses, like the mansions in Newport. I'm surprised you don't see this more today – for me it’s a must-have.

I also had mirror cut for the bottoms of my makeup and lingerie drawers. It's easy to keep clean so it’s perfect in closets, and somehow it makes everything inside look a little bit nicer, not to mention more glam…

But be careful - always remember what the mirror will reflect and make sure the view is a good one. Turns out I will need to paint the bottom of one drawer as the mirror below it reflects the raw unpainted wood. An alternative: use decorative paper covered by clear glass for another great look.

This weekend one of my neighbors stopped by to see my progress and commented on how crisp and clean it all looked; and as a result he’s now planning to do the same. See, it’s catching…

This step always makes me feel happy, as it creates a clean and finished look. And the best is – absolutely no cleaning required. My mirror guy gave me a little cleaning tip: once the surface is clean, use a Swiffer Duster to keep it looking good, rather than always going for the glass cleaner, but for the times you do, spray the rag rather than the mirror to minimize scratches.

So if you have places you want to make a little more special, take the extra step and customize with mirror – and don’t forget a bevel now and then, for that little extra impact. Not that you need it…

6 comments:

Kristen said...

beauuuuutiful! i love the look of the mirrored bottoms to drawers, too!

A Perfect Gray said...

hope you will post some images for us to see..sounds wonderful...

Dream Mom said...

Oh, I can't wait to see it; the doors sound beautiful. It would be interesting to see the before and afters of the doors. I hadn't thought about mirrored bottoms to the makeup drawers; I can see how glam it would be in the lingerie drawers but I wondered if it would be too busy with the makeup in there. I assume it isn't or you wouldn't be doing it, lol! I've always loved paper lining and hadn't thought about glass toppers for that. I bet it's very pretty.

As for glass cleaners, I recently made my own after scouring the internet. It works great and smells beautiful. You take 1/3 cup of distilled white vinegar, 4 cups of water then add a few drops of an essential oil you like. It makes for a wonderful scent and it's a great glass/mirror cleaner. It's like a light, fresh perfume for the room every time I clean.

Dreams of Perfection said...

I love mirrored everything! My question however is when you add mirror to chests or drawers, how do attach the knobs?

Friend_on_12 said...

It sounds like you're getting a couple more steps closer to an authentic Kelly space. Can't wait to see all the creative uses of mirrors. I love how you manage to make a place sparkle and shine in ways I'd never think of!

Kelly Giesen said...

The bottom of drawers is a great little trick - give it a try.

The makeup actually looks prettier than it is with mirror below it...believe it or not. I have never made my own cleaner - thanks for the tip.

You need to get the mirror precut with holes by a glass supplier to put the knobs in...tricky.

Yes I'm getting closer...will be fun to unpack the rest of my stuff - I miss it.

Will see if I can get a few shots.