Foyer Mirror, Bedroom Bench, and Question About The Longest Bedroom Wall
Yesterday, I finally got the mirror hung in the foyer of our bedroom suite. A while back, I floated the idea of putting sconces on either side of the mirror, but after looking for sconces (and not being impressed with anything I found), and the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t like that idea. It seemed too predictable and, well, too boring.
So I ruled out that idea and thought I might try out the idea of lighting the mirror from the back. Since the mirror had to stand out from the wall a bit to clear the large chair rail molding, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out the idea of a backlit mirror.
I needed the mirror to come off the wall 1.25″ to clear the chair rail, and I figured that I could get that distance with a piece of 1″ x 4″ lumber (which is 3/4″ thick) attached to the wall with two screws sticking out the rest of the way. I painted the board dark teal to match the wallpaper (kind of) and then screwed it to the wall. The mirror is kind of heavy, so I had to use screws. I don’t love the idea of putting screws into the wallpaper, but I didn’t really have another option.
These are the lights I tried out. I chose these because they had a bright white option and the transformer box is pretty small, so it could be tucked behind the mirror. Most of the other tape lights had really big transformer boxes that wouldn’t fit behind the mirror.
It wasn’t quite long enough to put it right at the edge by the frame, so I had to bring the light strip in about three inches to make it all the way around the back of the mirror.
I had high hopes for this, but when I got the mirror hung and turned the lights on, I wasn’t impressed.
I might like it more if the wall was the same from ceiling to floor. If the whole wall were grasscloth, or if the whole wall were painted white, I might feel differently about it. But this look just wasn’t working for me. Plus, it didn’t really provide any useful lighting in the area. The ceiling light is actually plenty bright and provides all the lighting that this small foyer area needs.
So I abandoned that idea and unhooked the lights. Then I brought in this plant (it’s a fake one from World Market) and put it in this pretty basket that a friend gave me for my birthday a few months back, and I loved it. So in the end, I won’t have any additional lighting on this wall.
I still need to clean the mirror and get the sticky tag off of it, but here’s a look at the side view so that you can see how it stands out from the wall just a bit. The gap doesn’t bother me, and it actually looks much better than I had anticipated.
I do have some other decorative items that I’m going to add to this wall around the mirror, as well as the walls on either side of the bathroom (i.e., future storage closet) doors, but I don’t have them yet. They’re supposed to be delivered today, so stay tuned for that.
So the foyer is coming along. My biggest question now is what to do with this long, uninterrupted wall that is partly in the foyer area and continues into the bedroom.
From the right edge of the bathroom door trim to the end of the wall, I have 11′ 4″ of space. It’s the longest, uninterrupted wall space in the entire bedroom suite, and I have no idea what to put there.
I’m kind of tempted just to leave it blank. I don’t necessarily think that every single wall needs something on it. But on the other hand, that’s an awful lot of wall space to leave blank.
In other news, I brought in the other bench from the breakfast room to see if I had enough room at the end of the bed for the bench. And as it turns out, I have plenty of room! And now I’m wondering if this would be a great place to use more of the bird fabric.
If it sits at the foot of the bed, this is where it would sit.
And that still leaves me plenty of space between the bench and the dresser. It’s right at five feet of space between the two.
If I use the bench at the foot of the bed, I want the legs to be stained and not painted. I need to tape off where the recliner will go to make sure there’s room for both of them, but I think there’s plenty of room. Anyway, I don’t know that I necessarily need both a bench and a recliner, but I do think a bench covered in the bird fabric at the foot of the bed would be beautiful.
I’ll probably wait until I have the recliner in hand (and in place) before making that final decision. The good news is that it has finally been shipped. The bad news is that it’s coming from overseas somewhere, and it takes 7-14 days to even reach the U.S. Then it’ll be another few days before it reaches our front door. So I might still be looking at three weeks before I have the recliner. *Sigh* Oh well. There’s nothing I can do about that other than be patient and work on other things until it gets here.
But the bird fabric will definitely make an appearance on something large and significant in the room. I already know for sure I’ll be using it on big pillows on the bed, and then I’ll either use it for a duvet cover (or throw) for the foot of the bed, or I’ll use it to reupholster this bench for the foot of the bed. Either way, it’ll play a prominent role in the overall design of the room. It won’t be as prominent as the original plan of using it on the headboard, but it’ll be a big player in the design.
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
The mirror is fantastic. Given the mirror reflects the ambient light in the room, I don’t think you need additional lighting. For the long wall, maybe wait until you have all of the furniture in the room. I think you might like some art on that wall in the end.
I’d leave the long wall blank as well as the mirror wall and wait until all the big stuff is in to see what areas could use something extra. Sometimes when we focus on just a wall it can look bare but once everything is in place we realize that it’s just enough without adding more. You don’t want to go putting more holes in the wallpaper than you have to.
I have so few “things” that bother me when decorating and if it’s good enough then so be it. But when I saw your mirror hung, well let’s say you went right I turned left. It looks so, dare I say it, odd there truncating the wall like that. My first thought would be to put it in the corner, easel style.
At least we agree on not lighting it. 😉
Agree, you put it nicer that I could!
The mirror is beautiful, but it looks odd to me overhanging the wainscoting. I’m wondering how it would look if it were hung horizontally.
It’s too long to hang horizontally, but that would also defeat the purpose of me having a full-length mirror available for me right outside of the closet (since I didn’t have room inside the closet).
Wow. It all is just beautiful. I like something at the end of the bed for all my decorative pillows.
Dear Kristi,
The grass cloth looks great! I’m glad you opted to do the crown and grass cloth yourself. I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job than you did.
I love the idea of the bench at the foot of the bed. I think it’s always a good place to put the decorative pillows you’re not using when you’re in the bed.
I’d need to know what the overall plan is for art/things in the bedroom portion before I could comment on whether the long wall needs something.
Love the mirror and plant in the foyer. I agree with another commenter that you may want to get the main things in the rooms before you hang art. Your eye will know, once all major elements are in place, what areas need something and what that should be.
It’s amazing to me the amount of talent YHWH has gifted you with. You create most all of the elements in your rooms, from art to furniture to drapes, to the very walls and surfaces that those items are placed on. Truly amazing!
Thanks for sharing your decorating journey.
YHWH Bless You : )
Deciding at this point to add yet another pattern by using a different one on a bench seems like overkill.
The bed and its dressing-up goods will have a lot going. As you surmised, the bench isn’t necessary (function); it would be beautiful (form.) Perhaps a plain fabric choice would relieve the eye if form wins out.
If you wait to determine the matter when all the furniture and other decor are in place, you will know what to do, which is also true concerning the long wall.
The mirror and plant combo looks great.
You know you can get longer cover plate screws? There is a contrator pack of replacment screws that come in varied lengths at Home Depot called “wall plate screw assortment” for $9.56 here. When prepping my house for sale, which had horribly uneven plaster finish on walls, this was invaluable. The heads are repainted in white and off white. I’m sure smaller amounts are available, too.
The length of the screws isn’t the issue. 🙂 The ones that come with it are long enough.
The mirror looks great without lights behind it. I wouldn’t put anything on either side of the mirror. If you’re thinking about it, I’d put a template of the artwork on the wall (using tape that I’ve stuck to my hand first to make less sticky and less likely to remove paint or wallpaper) to see how it looks before putting a hole in the grasscloth. I also like the faux plant in the corner. I’d wait till the room is finished to decide if you want artwork on the long wall. I hope you’ll reconsider using the teal geometric fabric on your bed. There would be a lot of teal in the room and geometric patterns with the rug. I’d built the headboard and place the bird fabric over it to see how it looks. I think the floral bird fabric would give a different pattern and more coral to the room.
The plant gives so much life to the area! Love the idea of the bird print on a bench at the end of the bed. I agree with others that the blank wall should stay blank for now. The headboard and bed coverings will be the visual focus and you may find that the blank wall acts as a “line” that emphasizes drawing the eye to the headboard and bed.
Also, to hang things on wallpaper, there is a trick that is so useful – cut two sides of a triangle like this / \ and gently peel the wallpaper off the wall and fold it down without creasing to reveal a triangle of bare wall. The triangle should be just big enough to accommodate a nail or picture hanger. You can then put a nail or picture hanger on the bare wall. To reverse this, take out the nail, patch the hole, then press the wallpaper back up with a little wallpaper paste. The cuts will be barely visible.
I absolutely love the bird fabric so anywhere you add it is wonderful to me! I love adding the bench at the end of the bed, I did that in my bedroom and it’s the perfect finishing touch. The mirror and plant look great. I agree with you on the lights they just weren’t right. You had mentioned something about a gallery wall and I am thinking that long wall might be the perfect place. I know whatever you decide it will be beautiful. You are doing a fabulous job and I can’t wait to see the finished product!
You are correct that not every wall needs something. That being said, would something decorative that uses the same color as the dresser be a consideration? Might you also consider painting the bench legs the same color as the dresser? That color looks as if it will work quite well with the bird fabric.
Yay for more of the bird fabric!
I’d get the bed, recliner (when it arrives), and the other knowns like the drapes into the room and then literally sleep on it before adding any more decor. It looks fantastic, and sometimes slow and steady is the way!
If you decide to put things in the long wall, have you considered a wall of family pictures in nice frames? It would give a personal touch to your room and give Matt faces to look at and think of memories on days when he has to be in there more. I love the mirror and the plant.
I agree with this thought. Family photos done in black and white in
white frames. Classic and it wouldn’t compete with all of the other colors already in the room. I’d go with a larger format, say 8″x10″ photos in 11″x14″ frame or even upsize once more to 11″x14″ photo in 16″x20″ frames. That large would only need 3 or four to fill the wall.
“I’m kind of tempted just to leave it blank. I don’t necessarily think that every single wall needs something on it.”
I’m team leave it blank………. or at least until everything is in the room and you can determine if something is really needed there. I agree, every single wall does not need something on it.
Hangers in grass cloth wallpaper can make very small holes if you fiddle with it to separate the rows of grass carefully and use one of these hangers:
https://www.amazon.com/FURHUA-Picture-Pictures-Planters-Decorations-20pcs/dp/B07GPM2VXK/ref=sr_1_6?crid=L05UCMPMTEW8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Ys_wtIs6HNqLjjmBd14MmHvMhOHs5GcujJQGLpeaFZV3Ssnv4zI_M8fyLo7re_AeCNAqU_c4piqlfxRMf-UjD6ceZ2FXdK8NoHAvdK_yTnxvbNlV_FQebf_VuNlLHEUIzV3dvXNRh32fhwBI1RHS6sX7R5SsylhMd2cOlgJD86YtVyVKqvJIxJwXWvekxwoWlRpGBrRqIrixehXumLye8c69llNpxl1wK4Uee7LLEp2kHJS7YfYkMox1UM74r7kr2ydZ85E-LbMbHNza9V54S6Co13uN0DIB1TnJCCc1p3U.2SUTfiPh5YgfnFcbKKQFparzRsTzp5li1XNp6AqgiAQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=hangers%2Bfor%2Bpictures%2Bon%2Bsheet%2Brock%2Bwall&qid=1762975094&sprefix=hangers%2Bfor%2Bpictures%2Caps%2C856&sr=8-6&th=1
They poke a very small hole and can carry alot of weight.
I’m disappointed that the headboard won’t be covered in the beautiful bird fabric. I was used to seeing it there in your photos. The blue geometric fabric is boring and boxy in comparison. Will you reconsider?
No. 🙂 There will be plenty of bird fabric in the finished room. I just think it works better as an accent and not a base.
The lights behind the mirror looked great! I’m definitely stealing that idea for our bedroom.
I love that mirror, and the plant is the perfect touch there! I’m wondering how you decided where to place the mirror on that wall. In the photos it doesn’t appear to be centered. Do you have something in mind to put on the left side? Or is there some other factor that came into play on deciding where to hang it?
Well, darn. You’re right. It’s not centered. It was supposed to be! 😀 I’ll move it over so that it’s centered.