Thursday, March 17, 2011

The more mirrors the merrier!

I ran across this picture in Skona Hem, a Swedish magazine. I love the creative use of mirrors. You can have a lot of fun designing a wall like this, and auctions are great places to find the unique or unusual mirrors to create this look.


Let's assemble this look at auction.

If we start with a couple of sunburst mirrors, these two are terrific examples. They were sold at the last St. Charles Gallery auction in New Orleans. They are both 22.5" in diameter, and this first one is described as Spanish Colonial in an 18th century style from the 2nd quarter of the 20th century. It's carved giltwood, and sold for $461. It's lovely and decorative.

This mirror is described as Italian carved and giltwood in a Directoire style. It's also 2nd quarter 20th century. It sold for $553. These two mirrors would be a chic beginning of our design.







The mirrors in the Skona Hem bathroom all have quite elaborate frames. The challenge in looking through auction results was finding some examples that wouldn't break the bank. I love this exuberant Italian neoclassical mirror. It's 19th century and measures 43" tall including it's great frame. It sold at a Bonhams auction for $1,586.
















Pair of mirrors could work quite well in our design. This Italian late 18th century/early 19th century pair are wonderful. They measure just 25" tall and sold at a Christie's auction for $1,375, which was within their estimate range of $1,000 - $1,500.





This set of similar Italian mirrors are a good resemblance to the mirrors in our Skona Hem photo. They have that wonderful rococo style flamboyance. The largest of the two measures 40" tall, and they are described as '19th century and later'. Not sure what that means in terms of dating, which may explain the bargain price they went for of $625 off an auction estimate of $2,000 - $3,000.









One of the fun things about decorating with mirrors is that you can collect them over time, and be opportunistic in your selection. They don't even need to serve as looking glasses when displayed like this one a wall. Enliven a bathroom's decor, create an artistic design on a wall in your living room, or brighten up a long hallway.

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