Glamour mirrors

Glamour mirrors in frames I build and gild by hand, made to the size your wall needs. Glamour here is a matter of surface: the frames are made to catch light rather than absorb it — genuine gold leaf laid leaf by leaf, deep gloss lacquer, a clear moulding line without heavy ornament. Most models set a black or strongly coloured face against a gilded inner edge. Others are gilded across the whole profile, and a few are painted only, in high-gloss black or white, where the shine alone does the work.

Gold leaf, not gold effect

The gilding on these frames is genuine gold leaf. Depending on the model that means 23-karat yellow gold, warm and bright; 22-karat moon gold, cooler and faintly silvery; or white gold in 12-karat and 6-karat, which reads close to silver and chrome. Genuine silver leaf is used on particular designs. The karat and the gilded area are given on each product page, because some frames carry gold along the inner edge only and others across the full face.

On water gilded models the leaf is laid onto a ground of gesso and bole. That is the only method that allows the gold to be burnished afterwards with an agate stone, and burnishing is what produces the deep, reflective shine associated with glamour frames — something no metallised spray or gold-effect foil reproduces. If you want to see the stages, I have described the water gilding process in detail.

Finishes in this category

• Black and gold — high-gloss black with 23-karat or 22-karat moon gold along the inner profile, on selected models along both edges. The most requested combination here, and the one that sits most easily in art déco and modern classic rooms.
• Fully gilded — gold leaf across the face, from an 18 mm narrow moulding to wider rounded profiles.
• White gold and silver — a cool, almost chrome-like tone for interiors where yellow gold would feel too warm.
• Colour with gold — navy, bottle green, burgundy, red, turquoise or cream on the face, with a gilded band at the inner edge.
• Plain high gloss — black or white lacquer without gilding, for schemes that need reflection without a second metal.

Where a glamour mirror works

In a living room, a large mirror above a console or fireplace becomes the main accent on the wall and carries daylight further into the room. Matching its width to the furniture underneath usually gives a better result than simply choosing the largest size available. In a bedroom, a gilded frame above a dressing table or chest of drawers defines the area without adding another piece of furniture. In a hallway the same mirror does two jobs, practical and decorative, in the first metre of the house that anyone sees.

In a bathroom the lacquered frame finish copes with humidity, and an anti-fog heating mat can be fitted behind the glass and wired into the lighting circuit by an electrician during installation. If it is easier to shop by room than by style, the same pieces appear in the living room mirrors and bathroom mirrors sections.

How the frames are made

Each moulding is cut and assembled from solid wood in my workshop. Corners are joined with wooden dowels while the frame is still raw, before any paint or gilding, so the joint stays closed as the timber moves with changes in humidity. The front and the sides carry the same colour and finish, which means no bare edge shows once the mirror is on the wall — the detail that most clearly separates a hand-built frame from a wrapped factory profile.

The standard glass is SGG Miralite Pure Diamant 4 mm on an OptiWhite base: a low-iron mirror with a neutral reflection, free of the green cast of ordinary glass. Backing is MDF, and the mirror hangs on brackets that accept a portrait or a landscape orientation. As an option the glass can be supplied in 5 mm OptiWhite with a bevelled edge, which draws a soft line of light around the reflection — available on models where the product page lists it.

Ordering a glamour mirror made to measure

Every mirror in this category is made to order. Each product page lists the sizes I make most often with a price for each; if your wall needs something outside that list, send the dimensions and I will quote it. The dimensions shown always cover the mirror complete with its frame, and the moulding width is stated in the individual product description.

The finish is open as well: over one hundred colours from a richly pigmented artisan paint range, in gloss, semi-matt or matt, alongside the choice of gilding. Wall mirrors and floor-standing pieces can be made in the same finish, so a bedroom and a hallway can be matched. Lead time depends on the size and on how involved the finish is, and it is given on each product page. For a model you cannot see in the shop, send me the dimensions together with a photo of the wall if you have one, and I will prepare a frame and finish proposal with a quote. The full range of mirrors in frames covers classic, decorative and room-specific designs alongside these.