Yesterday I finally got around to hanging the mirror in the foyer of our bedroom suite. A while ago I had the idea of putting wall sconces on either side of the mirror, but after searching for wall sconces (and not being impressed with anything I found), and the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t like that idea. It seemed too predictable and, well, too boring.
So I scrapped that idea and thought about maybe trying the idea of lighting the mirror from behind. Since the mirror needed to stand back a bit from the wall to clear the large chair rail bar, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out the idea of a backlit mirror.
I needed to clear the mirror 1.25 inches from the wall to get past the chair rail, and I figured I could achieve this distance with a 1″ x 4″ piece of wood (that is 3/4″ thick) secured to the wall with two screws that extended the rest of the way. I painted the board a dark teal to kind of match the wallpaper and then screwed it to the wall. The mirror is quite heavy so I had to use screws. I don’t like the idea of putting screws into the wallpaper, but I didn’t really have another option.
These are the lights I tried. I chose these because they had a bright white option and the transformer box is quite small so it could be stored behind the mirror. Most other strip lights had really large transformer boxes that didn’t fit behind the mirror.
It wasn’t quite long enough to attach directly to the edge of the frame, so I had to run the light strip about three inches long to make it all the way around the back of the mirror.
I had high hopes for it, but when I hung the mirror and turned on the light, I wasn’t impressed.
I might like it better if the wall was the same from ceiling to floor. If the whole wall was made of grasscloth or if the whole wall was painted white, I might see it differently. But this look just didn’t work for me. Plus, it didn’t really provide any useful lighting in the area. The ceiling light is actually very bright and provides all the lighting this small foyer area needs.
So I gave up on that idea and turned off the lights. Then I brought this plant (it’s a fake from World Market) and put it in this pretty basket that a friend gave me for my birthday a few months ago and I was thrilled. So ultimately I won’t have any additional lighting on this wall.
I still need to clean the mirror and remove the adhesive label, but here’s a look at the side view so you can see how it stands out from the wall a bit. The gap doesn’t bother me and it actually looks a lot better than I expected.
I have a few other decor items that I will add to this wall around the mirror, as well as the walls on either side of the bathroom doors (e.g. future storage), but I don’t have them yet. They’re scheduled to be delivered today, so stay tuned.
So the foyer is coming. My biggest question now is what to do with this long, unbroken wall that is partially in the foyer area and extends into the bedroom.
From the right edge of the bathroom door panel to the end of the wall I have 11′ 4″ of space. It’s the longest, unbroken wall space in the entire bedroom suite, and I have no idea what to put there.
I’m kind of tempted to just leave it blank. I don’t necessarily think every single wall needs something on it. On the other hand, there is also a lot of wall space that needs to be left free.
I also brought the other bench from the breakfast room to see if I had enough space for the bench at the end of the bed. And it turns out I have tons of space! And now I’m wondering if this would be a great place to use more bird fabric.
If it’s at the foot of the bed, that’s where it would sit.
And so there is still plenty of space between the bench and the chest of drawers. The distance between the two is exactly five feet.
If I’m using the bench at the foot of the bed, I want the legs to be stained, not painted. I’ll have to tape off where the chair will be attached to make sure there’s room for both, but I think there’s plenty of room. I don’t know if I necessarily need both a bench and a recliner, but I do think a bench covered in the bird fabric would be nice at the foot of the bed.
I’ll probably wait until I have the chair in hand (and in place) before making the final decision. The good news is that it finally shipped. The bad news is that it’s coming from somewhere overseas and it takes 7 to 14 days to even arrive in the US. Then it will take a few more days until it reaches our front door. So it could be another three weeks until I have the recliner. *Sigh* Oh well. There’s nothing I can do other than be patient and work on other things until the time comes.
But the bird fabric will definitely stand out on something large and significant in the room. I already know for sure that I will use it on large pillows on the bed, and then I will either use it as a duvet cover (or throw) for the foot of the bed, or I will use it to reupholster this bench for the foot of the bed. In any case, it will play a prominent role in the overall design of the room. It won’t be as noticeable as originally planned to use it on the headboard, but it will play a big role in the design.
