Hallway mirrors

A hallway mirror is chosen first by its frame, because that is what you see from the door. Ours are cut from untreated teak that weathers to grey, oiled or varnished oak with a fine grain, dark mindi for the rounded shapes, and for a few pieces woven rattan, mango wood or black metal. No veneered chipboard frames: the wood is solid, part of the range is FSC®-certified, and the glass sits on a rigid back ready to hang. A 90 cm round oak mirror, a 50 x 70 teak rectangle or a 160 cm wide format: the material stays the same, the grain changes from one frame to the next.

In a hallway, a mirror does two jobs: a check before leaving, and bouncing light into a corridor that often has no window. A round mirror of 50 to 90 cm above a hallway console table handles the first; a large horizontal mirror of 140 or 160 cm, or a 2 m tall model for a head-to-toe view, handles the second. Rectangular mirrors with a shelf, 12 to 15 cm deep, add a spot for keys and post without another piece of furniture. Hanging rule: the centre of the mirror at eye level, roughly 160 cm from the floor, and a frame no wider than the console beneath it.

The hallway mirror is the most looked-at object in the house and the most exposed: draughts, damp coats, bags brushing the frame. Solid wood takes all of it. Untreated teak turns silver over the years, oiled oak deepens slightly, and a scratch on the frame is sanded and re-oiled rather than condemning the whole piece. The glass cleans with plain water and a microfibre cloth, without ammonia-based products that would eventually attack the wood at the edge of the frame. Use a fixing rated for the weight of the glass, and the mirror will not move again. A hallway is fitted out once, and the mirror stays.