How to Use Reflective Ceilings & Walls to Enlarge Space

Create a more expansive space with reflective wall and ceiling elements.

Create a more expansive space with reflective wall and ceiling elements.

Sometimes interior designers incorporate various techniques to make spaces feel larger than their actual square footage. One of the ways to accomplish this is by using reflective wall and ceiling elements. Reflective decor accents, such as decorative room mirrors and pressed-tin ceiling tiles, help reflect natural light and make any space appear more expansive. By combining light wall colors and a more monochromatic color scheme, most rooms feel larger just with the addition of a reflective wall or ceiling accent.

Floor to Ceiling Mirror

Use a framed, floor to ceiling mirror to make any space appear larger. Select a mirror that has a frame that coordinates with the decorating scheme of the room, such as a white, distressed frame for a shabby and chic decor or a sleek, black lacquer mirror for a contemporary design. Secure the mirror to the wall to give it optimal stability. Position the mirror on a light colored wall to give the space an additional expansive appearance. Place the mirror on a wall opposite a window to help increase the natural light in the room and reflect the scenery indoors for a space that feels bigger than its actual dimensions.

Mirror Gallery Wall

Create a reflective wall display with a mirror gallery wall that features several different styles of mirrors. Paint various styles of mirror frames the same color to help unify them visually. Because most gallery walls consist of a myriad of different pieces, use at least nine mirrors in the display to give it a full look. Position the desired arrangement on the floor before hanging to allow for changes before the final wall collection is hung. This type of reflective display is attractive on stairways, which often do not have much natural light and are often narrow, to help make them feel more expansive.

Pressed Tin Ceiling

Highlight a ceiling area and give it an appearance of additional height by adding ceiling pressed-tin tiles. Use pressed-tin ceiling peel-and-stick tiles that are especially lightweight and easy to apply to give a feeling of drama to a ceiling area. Choose reflective styles in silver to help reflect the natural light in the room and give the space a larger look and feel. Pressed-tin ceiling tiles are appropriate for many decors including Victorian. They also can give a space a warehouse, industrial appearance. Use them in any room to create a space with added dimension, visual interest and reflective light.

Mirrored Ceiling Medallion

Add a mirrored ceiling medallion to any chandelier base to reflect the light of the fixture and make the room appear larger. Paint the ceiling a light color, such as white or cream to give it a feeling of additional height. Most mirrored ceiling medallions feature a frame around the mirror, so choose a frame in a style to coordinate with the decorating scheme of the room. Sleek, geometric shapes are appropriate for contemporary rooms while scrolled, white, distressed frames are more visually pleasing in a shabby and chic room. The mirror on the medallion brings the eye up and makes the room feel higher for a space with an expansive appearance.

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