BLOG - antique mirror

It seems that it is the New York "condition" to long for a large, light-filled apartment or home.  We all seem to make some sort of compromise in order to live in such a great city. After being here for some time I have realized that this domestic compromise is one of my favorite parts of living in New York.  While maddening at times, it forces you to be creative in your approach to living.  It forces you to think outside the box for solutions to design and space problems.  

About a year ago, my husband and I set out to find our first home together.  Our list of must-haves was long and we felt we had the endurance to find the perfect spot.  Looking back on the experience, the apartment we ended up with was PERFECT at the time because we were going to make it into something completely different.  In our minds what we purchased was not what we actually received and our imaginations ran wild with the possibilities. Our architects were patient and brilliant.  "Can't we put more hanging space here?" Not enough depth. "What about a hallway there?" Structural Beam. And then of course it came, "I wish our bedroom was bigger".  There was the awkward floorplan, the endless variety of ceiling heights, beams, and of course the condo board "No your kitchen cannot go past that line!". We were navigating the New York condition and the dream home in our heads was slowly slipping away due to reality, budget, and the fact that what we bought was what we got.  Nearly a year later, what has emerged is an apartment that is in fact perfect for us.  We will love it all the more because of the amount of thought and time we put into each and every element. 

As a designer these inescapable realities gave me some wonderful excuses to focus on decorative practices that I have always loved but would never consider as a renter. One of these problems is described below.

Problem: Our dining room is at the far end of a long-narrow space that is quite dark:

Solution: Antique Mirror one wall.  Heather from Habitually Chic did an excellent post on Mirrored Walls and some of my favorite inspirations are below.

Rena Abbot's Living Room as seen on Habitually Chic

Dining Room of Janklow Townhouse

Bunny Williams

I agree with one of Heather's reader that mirrored walls can easily go tacky or Fun House.  They should not cause a space to become disorienting or never-ending.  But done in the right way, they can be a gorgeous solution to light and space issues.  The image of the Janklow townhouse was the most relevant to my project because I knew that I wanted to have some sort of blue venetian plaster in the room that would probably meet in the corner with the mirrored wall. I love how the affect in the picture above was to provide diffused natural light throughout the room and reflect the color at the same time.  In the end I chose a finish that is similar to the mirror in Bunny Williams apartment.  I love how it almost looks like an impressionist painting.

Within weeks the rooms we have imagined for the past year will become a reality for us....