Whether you’re renovating your old bathroom or styling a new one, there are many decisions you need to make, from selecting the right bathroom flooring to choosing accent pieces that will set the tone of your bathroom. Bathroom mirrors are the most important finishing touch, providing both function and style.

They serve multiple purposes, from helping you set your best look for the day, from applying makeup, inserting contacts into your eyes to cleaning and washing your face, shaving and more. Also, a bathroom mirror can help you make your bathroom appear larger and more stylish, too.

Bathroom mirrors are not as same as normal mirrors because they are made with tempered glass, which does not shatter into small shards if broken, limiting the risk of injury. Also, they are different from other mirror types both structurally and aesthetically.

But choosing the perfect mirror for your bathroom is not an easy task. Whether your style is more traditional or contemporary, there is a variety of bath mirrors you can choose from and find the one that will complete your space. The main two types are decorative, standalone mirrors and mirrored cabinets. To help you decide what’s best for your bathroom, here is a comparison between the two.

Decorative Mirrors vs. Mirrored Cabinets

There are many differences between standalone mirrors and bathroom mirrors, including their size, structure and how they match the bathroom décor. You can choose from a wide range of bathroom mirrors, depending on the space you’re working with, your storage needs and your bathroom style.

Decorative Mirrors

This type of mirrors is a great choice for contemporary bathrooms as storing space these days is more focused on the bathroom vanity units than on the mirror itself. But still, they are a stylish and practical addition to any bathroom.

Some bath mirrors incorporate technology such as LED lights and are designed to make your daily routine easier, providing bright enough illumination for applying makeup, shaving or creating a relaxing ambience for a soak in the bath. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with different types of frames or frameless.

Oval

Oval mirrors fit well into narrow, small bathroom design and can be installed horizontally or vertically. They provide an effortless, but chic look to the overall bathroom design.

Rectangular

A rectangular bathroom mirror is the most common one and can be installed on your bathroom wall in many different ways, depending on the look you want to achieve.

Round

A round bathroom mirror can easily create contrast and enhance all the elements in your bathroom, especially angular sinks and fixtures. If you want to add more dimension to your bathroom space, you can choose more frameless round mirrors in different sizes and organise them on the wall in a playful manner.

Square

Square bathroom mirrors are often found as the most traditional ones, but their shape allows them to be mounted on the wall in many different ways, so your bathroom could get a contemporary look. Very often a square mirror is used to keep certain items out of the reflection, like a laundry basket or toilet suite.

How Big Should the Mirror Be in the Bathroom?

There are a few things to consider when choosing the size of your mirror to ensure it looks balanced with your basin or vanity unit. When selecting your bathroom mirror, make sure it fits the vanity dimensions, meaning it’s not wider than the unit and is centred properly, directly above the sink.

Depending on your personal preferences, you can opt for a mirror that’s the same width as the vanity unit to ensure perfect alignment or choose a mirror that’s a bit smaller in width than the sink or the vanity unit. Also, think of who will be using the mirror and keep in mind that an ideal height of a bathroom mirror is one foot above and below the eye line.

Mirrored Cabinets

A mirrored cabinet built-in option that provides storage and allows you to keep many bathroom essentials and medicine in one place. This way you can easily reduce clutter and organise the entire space. It’s a functional and aesthetically pleasing feature, often considered as a more traditional option. However, if chosen carefully, your mirrored cabinet can fit perfectly well in your contemporary style bathroom.

You can find mirrored cabinets with single, double and triple doors and choose the one that meets your storage requirements. The best place to fit a mirrored bathroom cabinet is above the sink, so you could easily access all your toiletries and beauty products and keep them neatly hidden away at the same time. You can choose a mirrored cabinet with or without integrated lights, or add some under- or over-cabinet lighting.

Depending on your bathroom style, you can choose from a variety of finishes and find what suits your bathroom best. The most popular ones are white, grey and stainless steel finish. A white mirrored cabinet is a great choice as it can easily blend in with other white fixtures, including the bath, basin and toilet. A grey mirrored cabinet is a good option for achieving an on-trend look and enhance other grey furniture items, while a stainless steel mirrored cabinet can help you achieve a modern look in a seemingly effortless way.