Mirror guide
Where to Put a Floor Mirror in the Bedroom (and Should It Face the Bed?)
By Joan Bardot · Updated 3 sources cited
On this page
The bedroom is where most of us keep a full-length mirror, because it is where we get dressed. It is also the room where placement matters most, since you sleep there. The question I get most often is whether a mirror should face the bed, and the honest answer has a practical side and a traditional side.
Below I cover both, then the spots where a full-length mirror works best in a bedroom, how tall it needs to be, and where to put one in the living room. If you are still choosing the mirror itself, start with my best full-length floor mirrors.
Is It Bad to Have a Mirror Facing Your Bed?
Leave the beliefs aside for a moment and there are still good reasons not to put a large mirror directly opposite the bed.
- Light at night. A mirror catches any light in the room, whether a streetlight through the curtains, a hallway light under the door or a charging phone, and bounces it back toward the pillow.
- Early sun. If the mirror faces the bed and the window is beside it, morning sun can reflect straight onto your face hours before your alarm.
- Movement in the dark. Waking at night and catching your own movement, or a partner's, in a large mirror is startling for a lot of people.
- A restless view. A mirror facing the bed reflects whatever is behind it, often the clothes chair or an open closet, and that is the last thing you see before sleep.
None of these is dangerous. They are about sleep quality, and whether they bother you depends on your room and your sleep. If you already sleep well with a mirror facing the bed, there is no practical reason to move it.
What Feng Shui and Other Traditions Say
Feng shui practitioners commonly advise against a mirror facing the bed. Their belief is that mirrors bounce energy around a room that should be calm, which they associate with restless sleep, and some say a mirror reflecting a couple in bed invites a third party into the relationship. Vastu guidance, as its practitioners describe it, gives similar advice for bedrooms, and several folk superstitions hold that a sleeping person should not be reflected.
These are beliefs, not findings, and I mention them because many readers care about them. Conveniently, the traditional advice and the practical advice point the same way: put the mirror somewhere you see it when you get dressed, not when you lie down.
If the Only Free Wall Faces the Bed
- Angle it. A leaning mirror turned 20 or 30 degrees toward the closet stops reflecting the pillow.
- Move it to a door. An over-the-door mirror on the bedroom or closet door solves most small-room problems. See my over-the-door mirror picks.
- Cover it at night. A light curtain or a mirror inside a wardrobe door works if you are following feng shui.
- Shift the bed instead. In some rooms, moving the bed a few feet along the wall takes it out of the reflection entirely.
Where to Put a Full-Length Mirror in a Bedroom
Next to the Closet or Dresser
This is the most useful spot, because it is where you get dressed. You can pull something off the hanger, put it on and check it without crossing the room. Leave enough floor in front to step back: I like at least 4 to 5 feet between you and the mirror to see a whole outfit comfortably.
On the Back of the Bedroom or Closet Door
In a small bedroom, a door is the best wall you have. It uses no floor space, it is out of the line of the bed when the door is open, and it puts the mirror exactly where you dress. A door mirror is usually narrow, around 14 to 16 inches wide, which is fine for checking an outfit but a little tight for a full-width view.
On a Wall at a Right Angle to the Window
This is where daylight does the most for you. A mirror on a side wall throws light deeper into the room, and when you stand in front of it, the window light falls on the side of your body, which is good for judging color and fit.
In a Corner
A floor mirror in a corner, angled toward the room, is easy to reach and easy to move, and the angle can be chosen so it reflects the window rather than the bed.
In a Small Bedroom
Go tall and narrow rather than wide. A slim mirror carries less visual weight and can tuck behind a chair or the end of a dresser. A mirror on the wall opposite the window, if that wall does not face the bed, also makes a small room feel noticeably brighter.
Getting the Light Right for Dressing
After years of doing makeup, the thing I notice most in bedroom mirrors is where the light comes from. When you stand at a mirror, the light should fall on you, not come from behind you.
- Mirror on the same wall as the window, or at a right angle to it: daylight lands on your front or side. Best for checking color and fit.
- Mirror directly opposite the window: the window is behind you, so you see yourself as a silhouette against bright glass. Great for bouncing light around the room, poor for checking an outfit in the morning.
At night, a ceiling fixture directly overhead casts shadows under the eyes and chin. A lamp at roughly face height beside the mirror gives far more even light.
How Tall Should a Full-Length Mirror Be?
There is a neat optics rule here: a flat mirror only needs to be half your height to show you from head to toe, as long as it is hung at the right height. The top edge should sit midway between your eyes and the top of your head. For someone 5 feet 6 inches tall, that means a mirror of 33 inches is enough in theory, and how far you stand from it does not change that.
In practice, I recommend more. A mirror that several people share, a leaning mirror that sits at an angle, and the habit of checking shoes all call for extra height. Around 48 inches is a sensible minimum for a hung mirror, and leaning floor mirrors are usually 60 inches or taller.
Leaning vs Hanging
A leaning mirror with its base a few inches out from the wall tilts the glass slightly upward. That shows more of your legs and tends to make you look a little longer, which many people like. A hung mirror gives a truer, straight-on view. If you lean, anchor the top to the wall, and if the base slides on wood or tile, my guide on securing a full-length mirror has the fixes. For a large mirror on the wall, follow the steps in how to hang a heavy mirror.
Where to Put a Floor Mirror in the Living Room
In a living room, a floor mirror is mostly about light and space rather than dressing. The same rule applies: decide what it will reflect before you place it.
Beside the Sofa
A tall mirror at one end of the sofa acts like a second window and makes the seating area feel larger. Turn it slightly toward the window so it catches the light rather than the backs of people sitting down.
On a Wall That Catches the Window
A mirror at a right angle to the main window spreads daylight across the room. Opposite the window, it doubles the view, which is beautiful if the view is good, but check that it does not bounce glare onto the TV.
Next to a Fireplace
The alcove beside a chimney breast is a natural frame for a floor mirror, and in the evening it reflects the fire and the lamps.
As a Pair
Two matching mirrors on either side of a sofa or a fireplace give a formal, symmetrical look. Match the frame finish; the shapes can differ.
What Not to Reflect
Keep the mirror away from the TV wall (screen glare), cable clutter, a busy bookcase or the entry where coats and bags pile up. And as in the dining room, avoid putting the glass at eye level on the wall people face when they sit down. My dining room mirror guide goes into that in more detail, and if you want a mirror as a centerpiece, see my decorative mirror picks.
Sources
- University of Illinois Physics, Ask the Van: Mirror, mirror, on the wall A mirror half your height shows you head to toe, with its top halfway between your eyes and the top of your head.
- NHLBI, NIH: Sleeping with even a small amount of light could harm heart health Light in the room during sleep affects the body, the practical reason to keep reflected light off the bed.
- U.S. CPSC: Anchor It! Anchoring tall furniture to the wall to prevent tip-over injuries to children.
Bedroom Mirror FAQ
Practically, a mirror facing the bed can bounce streetlight, hallway light or early sun onto your face and catch movement when you wake at night, which some people find disturbs their sleep. Feng shui practitioners also believe it creates restless energy. If you sleep well with it, there is no physical harm in leaving it.
According to feng shui practitioners, it is considered bad. Their belief is that a mirror facing the bed reflects and amplifies energy in a room meant for rest, and some say it invites a third party into a couple's relationship. The usual advice is to move the mirror, angle it away, or cover it at night.
Avoid the wall directly facing the bed, any spot where it reflects a window onto your pillow, and the space where a leaning mirror could fall onto the bed. Also skip spots that reflect clutter, like an open closet or the clothes chair. The wall beside the closet or a door mirror is usually the better choice.
Put a large mirror where you get dressed, next to the closet or dresser, ideally on a wall at a right angle to the window so daylight falls on you. Leave 4 to 5 feet of floor in front to step back. Avoid the wall facing the bed, and anchor the top if it leans.
On a door. An over-the-door mirror on the bedroom or closet door uses no floor space and sits where you dress. If you prefer a floor mirror, choose a tall, narrow one and tuck it in a corner or at the end of a dresser. A mirror on the wall opposite the window also makes a small room feel brighter.
Beside the sofa, in the alcove next to a fireplace, or on a wall at a right angle to the main window, where it spreads daylight across the room. Keep it away from the TV wall to avoid glare, and from spots that reflect clutter. Lean it slightly toward the window rather than toward the seating.
Keep reading: best full-length floor mirrors, over-the-door mirrors for small rooms, mirrors in the dining room and how to hang a heavy mirror.
The MirroRank letter
New mirror picks, sizing and lighting tips from Joan, about once a month.