Unchanged for decades, the mirror has finally gotten an upgrade

For unusual shapes, try Etsy sellers, but expect long waiting times and additional taxes for overseas shipping of a fragile piece like this gorgeous asymmetrical mirror (left or right) with LED rim lighting; from €621 (ensure electrics feature a transformer where needed), seller, freelifeUP.

On reflection, with some shifts in presentation, domestic mirrors have not developed in any flashy new way in about half a century. Apart from long runs of plate-glass mirror (a chic budget hack severely underused in bathrooms and kitchens), we tend to buy into two recognisable styles of wall mirror. Honestly? I was a bit bored.

Lifting away the visual weight from walls, multiplying and refracting precious light from windows and candles on over-mantels, piers and girandoles, mirrors became a vital feature in the theory of total design for architects from the time of Robert Adam (1728-1792). Georgian glasses girdled in carved, gesso swags, bows, columns, and finials added ornate grandeur and strategic reflections to ballrooms, middle-class drawing rooms, commercial palaces and fashionable government offices. Chinoiserie, lacquer, cheval or hand mirrors — it’s all from the same old stable of antique or revival favourites.

Art deco mirrors arrived with the international look in the 1920s. These radical newcomers perked up polite Edwardian expectations of foxed Georgian and Victorian posers tailored in writhing, fussy frames. Sparkling new graphic and organic forms in the 1950s and 1960s detonated light in arty, modernist puddles, splinters, sunbursts and raindrops. Since then, we’ve rather settled on that gilded, neoclassic “period” mirror or gone daring for the frameless mid-century plate glass designer special. With a bit of pushing and pulling around the silhouette and sizing, neither style has altered much.

Well, I would like to make a shout-out for a recent innovation in the ancient-looking glass — the LED bathroom mirror. Space-saving and remarkably smart, it’s a genuinely exciting design moment focused on the intimate rituals of washing, shaving, making-up and general preening. It’s taken from the second family of modernist mirrors, which is not surprising as most contemporary bathrooms are still humming with jazzy, aesthetic features from the early 1920s.

So, what should you look for when you first peer into the LED mirrors on offer for your bathroom or dressing room area?

First of all, there’s the quality of light. Most mirrors aided by sidelights or a gallery light over the top edge, deliver the reflection of an ageing Munster. Hotel mirrors with that brown or golden tint? Ask any man or woman trying to Polyfilla up their face, how completely useless these flattery glasses in a windowless bathroom really are. We’re looking for sleek and multi-functional, with enough clarity to pluck a nose hair when the LED lights are on.

The more functions you add as the electronics increase, the higher the costs. It’s vital to know what you cannot do without.

In terms of design, like all bathroom mirrors, we have a choice of square, round and rectangular (turned in either plane), with some circular mirrors Bauhaus-style mirrors belted on leather-look straps as if hanging.

Size-wise, don’t go smaller than the width of the basin (so match your 600mm vanity to a 600mm width mirror). A larger mirror generally won’t look overbalanced and will inflate perceived space.

Every LED mirror should be IP44-rated for moisture and will come with a heated, demister pad to keep it clear whatever the humidity. This is commonplace detailing. The demister comes on when the mirror itself is turned on, increasingly with a Halo-touch sensor towards the base of the actual glass.

Together with framed or border light (an acrylic diffuser or cut-out squares set down the longest sides), there’s the choice of CCT colour-shifting lights to match your mood to the colour temperature. This is not just about chromotherapy but offers a soft night-light glow to slip into the loo. Look for mirrors with a variety of white shadings to attune to your ambience, when relaxing in the bath, with a keener, bright white setting for getting your eyeliner on. Three whites from 3000K (Kelvins) to 6500K is about right.

If you don’t fancy inset-lighting, choose a back-lit variety of LED, which is reflected directly off the wall creating a soft cloud of light. These rim-lit mirrors highlight the shape of your mirror. They are best placed on pale, reflective tile or paint colours, and backed up with other forms of functional lighting, like directional spots. Most rectangular varieties offer portrait or landscape fittings so that you can flip the mirror on its side if you prefer. A wireless charger pad, where you can just place your phone is handy — again, this will bring up the ticket price.