SY1719 Wall Mirror: fitting one 80 x 120cm staggered border

There is no size to choose on the SY1719 Wall Mirror. It is listed in one, 80 x 120cm, which makes the whole decision simple: either your wall takes those figures or it takes a different mirror. This post is about working out which, and about what the staggered border does once it is up.

What 80 x 120cm asks of a wall

Work in this order and you will know in a few minutes.

1. Measure the clear width. Not the whole wall: the run between the nearest fixed things on either side, which usually means an architrave, a light switch, a corner or the edge of a radiator. A face 80cm across wants noticeably more than 80cm of clear wall, or it reads as having been squeezed in.
2. Measure the furniture below. Above a console, sideboard or chest, aim for a mirror narrower than the furniture. Eighty centimetres sits comfortably over something of around 120cm; over a 90cm console it will look top-heavy.
3. Check the height you have. The 120cm figure is the long side. Above furniture 80cm high you are committing roughly 210cm of the wall once you allow a gap, so measure up to the picture rail, coving or the underside of a stair soffit before you order.

The listing gives the size as two figures without stating which is the width, and 80 x 120 hung the other way is a long low mirror rather than a tall one. On a one-size product that is the single most important thing to confirm with us, so ask before you order.

The staggered border, and why it changes the hanging height

The description calls it a staggered border: a layered edge rather than a flat frame, meant to catch light at different depths. Two practical consequences follow from that. First, a layered edge shows its shadows best with light across it rather than straight at it, so a wall at right angles to a window usually does more for it than the wall facing one. Second, the frame is the thing people will look at, so centre it as a whole object rather than treating it as a plain mirror. Around 155 to 160cm to the centre of the glass works if you want to use it; above furniture, a hand's width of plain wall between the two is enough.

Three questions worth asking before you order

• Depth. No depth or projection is recorded, and a layered border stands further off the wall than a flat one. It matters behind a door or in a corridor, so ask us for it.
• Weight and fixings. Neither is recorded. A mirrored piece at this size wants anchors rated for it or a fixing into a stud, so ask what the hanging arrangement on the back is before you drill.
• What the border is made of. The listing does not say. The three photographs on the product page show the layering from several angles, which will tell you more than any adjective.

If 80 x 120cm is not your wall

The SY1704 Wall Mirror runs through four sizes, including 60 x 90cm for a smaller wall and a slim 40 x 120cm for a narrow one, with a crushed diamond band instead of the staggered edge. If the wall wants a shape rather than a rectangle, the SY1720 Wall Mirror is a 100cm circle with a segmented mirrored border, which fills an awkward square of wall better than anything oblong. For a quieter edge at the same kind of scale, the SY1705 Wall Mirror is listed at 80 x 120cm too.

Ordering the SY1719

The figures, the photographs and the order button are on the SY1719 Wall Mirror page, and the rest of the range sits in Wall Mirrors. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond.