Category Archives: Home advice

Make sure your next bathroom mirror comes with a built-in shaver socket!

-

The mirror that you use in your bathroom is one of those fundamental items that you might take for granted, until the time comes to upgrade or replace it – or for that matter, to invest in a new mirror for a whole new bathroom. 

In such circumstances, you might not be thinking solely about the dimensions of your next bathroom mirror, or even its all-round aesthetics in the context of your bathroom’s wider décor scheme.

We’re referring, of course, to all those fine details and features that could greatly affect how convenient your mirror is to use on a day-to-day basis, such as… whether it incorporates a built-in shaver socket.

Whereas a bathroom mirror with a shaver socket might have once been regarded as a luxury or a mere “nice to have”, many people up and down the UK are coming to see it as a standard.

Here are a few reasons why you might ask for your next bathroom mirror to incorporate a shaver socket:

  • It boosts day-to-day convenience in the bathroom

Shaving is typically a task that many of us need to do quickly before we get on with our day; it isn’t a process that we tend to linger on.

Your next bathroom mirror with a shaver socket will therefore help you accomplish this. A shaver socket being built into the mirror means you will be able to charge your shaver without the need for a separate outlet, and nor will you have to deal with tangled cords.

  • It is a space-efficient solution

Great numbers of UK householders today face the problem of trying to incorporate everything they require into a small bathroom.

By investing in a bathroom mirror with a shaver socket, such Britons won’t need to worry about having their bathroom mirror placed next to a separate electrical outlet. Instead, this basic personal care need can be catered for by their bathroom mirror itself.

  • It provides a more streamlined aesthetic

Your bathroom can look more visually elegant, organised, and streamlined when you opt for a bathroom mirror with a shaver socket. This will contribute to a more visually pleasing all-round bathroom interior scheme.

There is a good reason why many UK residents have moved away from more traditional setups in the bathroom; all those separate electrical outlets, cords, and adapters can add to the general visual “clutter”.

Having the shaver socket consolidated into a single, sleek bathroom mirror unit can contribute to a cleaner and more serene look in this space that should feel like a refuge from the rest of the home (and the world).

  • It is likely to incorporate other sophisticated touches

While the built-in shaver socket in your next bathroom mirror will certainly help make your day-by-day shaving experience quicker, less stressful, and more convenient, such a mirror is also likely to boast certain other very useful features.

The name of our company provides a clue about one of those features; a bathroom mirror with a shaver socket from Illuminated Mirrors will incorporate lighting to provide a clear view for shaving.

The infrared sensor and magnification – the former enabling you to turn your mirror lights on and off with a simple wave of your hand – will further help make your bathroom mirror from us a pleasure to use, not merely stunning to look at.

To begin a conversation with our team at Illuminated Mirrors about what your next light-up bathroom mirror could look like and what features you wish it to incorporate, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.

How to create a spa-like atmosphere in your home

-

Amid the hustle and bustle of modern life, it is important that we all take the time to relax and unwind.

One of the best ways to do this is by visiting a spa. However, if you find making time for this challenging, there are ways to create a spa-like atmosphere in your own home without breaking the bank.

From spa pools to our own Hollywood mirrors here at Illuminated Mirrors, here are some of the ways you can recreate the spa experience in your own home.

Aura lighting system

Invest in scented candles and diffusers

The use of scented candles is an easy way to give your home a spa-like atmosphere. Even the smallest candle can help replicate much of the calming atmosphere found in spas. Furthermore, these candles can be easily bought both online and in stores in a variety of different relaxing scents.

Another option is a diffuser. This device diffuses essential oils and spreads their scent throughout the home. Essential oils have a range of health benefits, including helping to relieve stress and headaches. A high-quality diffuser can be a great way to bring the spa experience to your home every day.

Buy a spa pool

Spa pools come in many different shapes, sizes, and designs. Such a pool would offer an excellent way for you to experience the relaxation of a spa without having to leave the house.

Spa pools may once have been prohibitively expensive for many people, but nowadays, it is easier to find the perfect spa pool for one’s house at an affordable price. Whether you introduce an indoor or outdoor spa pool to your home, it will almost certainly help make you feel more relaxed on a day-to-day basis.

If you don’t wish to install a spa pool, you can still enjoy a relaxing bath by adding a few cups of Epsom salt.

Add some ambient colour with our Aura Spa Mode lighting

Lighting can play a big role in creating a relaxing atmosphere, as demonstrated by our own Aura Spa Mode Hollywood mirrors.

These mirrors offer a full spectrum of ambient colour backlighting, with no fewer than five settings that you can take advantage of, depending on your mood at the time. You might set your mirror to show one of 16 static colours, for example, or you could put it on the Fade setting, which gradually fades through each colour in the spectrum.

With the press of a button, you can create an instant spa-like atmosphere in your home.

Play spa-like music

One of the most immediately recognisable elements of a spa is the relaxing music playing in the background. Such zen music can help put your mind at ease and eliminate any unwanted noises during your experience.

You can easily recreate this at home by finding relaxing music or the white noise of nature on a music app and plugging it into a Bluetooth speaker. Indeed, you can specify an illuminated bathroom mirror from us that incorporates such Bluetooth capability.

Whether you’re relaxing in a spa pool or performing your own spa treatments, adding spa-like music is a simple touch that can significantly enhance the relaxing atmosphere.

Conclusion: a spa-like atmosphere in your home can be within reach!

Creating a spa-like feel in your home isn’t as difficult or as expensive a process as you might imagine it to be. Indeed, our own feature-packed illuminated mirrors can play their own role in making it a reality for you.

To find out more about our range of Hollywood mirrors and related products and features, please feel free to reach out to the Illuminated Mirrors team today.

How can we help interior designers breathe new life into bathrooms?

-

If you work as an interior designer, you will already know how important it is that you select just the right features for just the right areas of a given room you have been tasked with overhauling.

If that room on your current project happens to be a bathroom, you should be careful what mirror you choose for it. Far from merely a practical feature, this mirror can reflect natural light entering the bathroom — and consequently make this space look larger and brighter.

These positive visual effects can be amplified with a lit bathroom mirror, as it would add to the amount of light that can be bounced around the room. It would also bode well for you to go with a mirror specially designed for the specific bathroom where it will be fitted.

Walk-in Wardrobe Backlit Mirror – Rochelle Humes

Will the bathroom be getting refurbished or instead renovated?

Maybe your client wants to increase their property’s market value or update the bathroom’s look? You would be able to tick either box by refurbishing the space. This work can involve replacing the existing mirror with a newer piece closer in line with modern sensibilities.

Alternatively, the bathroom could be in a major state of disrepair. For example, perhaps the mirror’s glass has been cracked or even shattered?

In situations like those, you could help the client to select entirely new fixtures that would replace the existing damaged ones as part of renovation work. Naturally, this would be a great opportunity for the client to shake up the bathroom’s overall aesthetic rather than just restore functionality.

Custom edge-lit mirror with ornate black decorative frame

Why order bathroom mirrors in bespoke designs?

As an interior designer, you need to take both cosmetic and practical concerns into account. However, many bathroom features already available to buy readymade might not meet enough of the criteria that are important to the client.

Hence, the client may favour opting for custom-designed pieces instead. On your request, we can design and make bespoke mirrors that would fit straight into the client’s bathroom both physically and aesthetically.

Before you do ask us to provide you with any bespoke pieces, though, you will need to hold a consultation with your client. This will enable you to inform them of the options when it comes to size and shape, as well as what features can be included.

Introducing our prestigious Diamond X Bespoke service

With this service for trade customers such as interior designers and interior design studios, we are handed a carefully tailored brief and then work in line with its specifications.

For example, at our Wiltshire factory, we can handcraft you a lit bathroom mirror in a size proportionate to the space where the piece is set to be installed. For that mirror, you can also choose from various lighting styles — including LED dot patterns and 360 illuminated edges.

Are you keen to ask us any as-yet-unanswered questions about how our Diamond X Bespoke mirror service works? If so, you can reach out to us by ringing 07893 952 606 or by emailing [email protected].

Should I buy a bathroom mirror or bathroom mirror cabinet?

-

A bathroom mirror does so much more than just reflect, it helps brighten an interior and breathes style and sophistication into spaces too.

If you have wall space above your wash basin or vanity unit, the chances are that you are considering either a mirror or a mirrored cabinet to complete the fresh look. Since both mirrors and cabinets compete for the same wall space, the question of which to select comes up fairly frequently when it comes to designing a bathroom interior.

Acrylic 360 edge-lit bathroom mirror
Bathroom Mirror Cabinet with LED dot formation lighting

Whilst there are several obvious benefits to both options, we have pulled together some factors to consider when it comes to deciding whether to go for a mirror or mirrored cabinet, to help aid your own decision-making process.

  • How big is the bathroom?

Firstly, consider the room size. It may seem obvious, but smaller rooms more frequently require smaller mirrors or units, and for smaller bathrooms and en suites, often a slimline mirror is best suited to the space. Slimline mirrors provide bathrooms with a sleek and fluid look, which translates into both modern and traditional schemes, dependent upon the styling. Be sure to research slimline mirrors that offer other functionalities if this is high on your list of priorities.

Slimline bathroom mirror with a bevelled edge

For larger bathrooms, alternatively, mirrored bathroom cabinets offer the versatility of providing ample storage space to help keep spaces clutter-free and clean. For bathrooms with double basins, selecting two cabinets or mirrors will create symmetry and visual balance in the room.

  • Where will the mirror or cabinet be hung?

The wall on which the cabinet or mirror will be hung, needs to be big enough, and for cabinets, there should be ample space either side of the doors to avoid collisions with other items. For example, it is best to avoid positioning cabinets in the corners of rooms to enable the doors to fully open.

You may also want to consider that cabinets and basins are often located opposite a bathroom door. This helps to avoid the side of a cabinet being the most prominent feature in a room, which can often feel barrier-like from an interior aesthetics perspective.

When it comes to selecting the size of the cabinet or mirror, take note of furniture proportions within the room. As a rule of thumb, the mirror or cabinet shouldn’t be wider than the piece of furniture or basin that it sits above, to help create a streamlined aesthetic. Note that any misalignment will be more noticeable with straight edged mirrors and cabinets, so lining up with either the basin or vanity unit below, is key to a pulled together design.

Bespoke mirrors that are made to order based on your own space requirements and exacting dimensions, are great for trickier spaces, such as bathrooms within the attic eaves.

  • Do you require storage?

It’s important to prioritise whichever option works best from a practical perspective. For example, consider whether you need the mirror to be multifunctional or simply just a mirror?

If storage is high up in terms of importance, it may be worth looking at cabinets with shelves for storage of toiletries and accessories, to keep other surfaces clutter-free.

Bathroom mirror cabinets can give your bathroom much needed additional storage.

Once you have established whether you’re in need of storage, plan the items that will be housed in the cabinet, so that you have an idea of height requirements for your shelving. The ability to move shelving up and down is often overlooked, yet adjustable shelves enable you to tailor and flex your storage to your own requirements.

  • Multifunctional mirrors and cabinets

Before deciding, consider whether you need any other functions for example, shaver sockets, audio, or digital clocks. All equally handy features to have permanently in the bathroom without having to bring in extra elements that may become water damaged, such as mobile phones and external speakers.

Bathroom cabinets with heated demisting doors that never steam-up

Consider cabinets with built in demisters – this is especially helpful in shower rooms with no or small windows – it can be frustrating having to constantly wipe misted-up mirrors!

  • Add a little glow up

Many mirrors and cabinets come with lights pre-built in, which can be useful when it comes to seeing detail.

Keep in mind any mood lighting that you would like. Colour changing lights can create a bold design with a little spa-like luxury, with ambient lighting helping create can provide a calm and serene space.

Opting for a light that runs all around the edge of the cabinet or mirror will help frame it, and projects a balanced glow around the room.

Dot style mirrors create a more subtle glow, whilst bar lighting helps create a stronger illumination in one area.

If considering a cabinet, look for those with lights underneath to project an ambient soft light. This will help brighten any darkness created by the bottom of the cupboards and the countertop.

  • Materials matter

When researching your new bathroom cabinet or mirror, ensure to check the materials from which it is made. High-grade aluminium offers enhanced quality and won’t ever rust – pretty important in a bathroom!

  • Plan your overall styling aesthetic

Are you more interested in modern and minimal or do you quite like stylish, statement pieces? If you prefer a simpler look and feel for example, mirrors will provide a more sleek and seamless result whereas a cabinet will make more of a statement as it protrudes further into the room.

Mirrors can easily be tied into an interior scheme and furniture styling. For example, for a natural, more effortless look, select organic shapes with soft edges such as rounded or pebble shaped mirrors. For rooms that are more symmetrical, or that are designed around harder lines, straight edged mirrors are likely to work better stylistically.

If you are still wondering which option would be best for your own home, here is a little round up of the advantages of both:

Final Conclusions…

Why we love bathroom mirrors:

  • They don’t intrude into the room and only use up a small amount of wall space as there isn’t much depth to them (consider slimline options for more compact bathrooms).
  • There are a wide variety of mirror sizes and shapes available, so they can effortlessly tie into an existing interior scheme.
  • Mirrors can make smaller rooms appear bigger by reflecting light around the room.
  • They can draw attention to a specific space and create a focal point in boxy rooms, particularly when selecting shaped mirrors.

Why we love cabinets:

  • Mirrored bathroom cabinets are handy for rooms that lack storage and can hide away all the clutter that we don’t want anyone else to see, offering a clean and sleek appearance.
  • They visually help balance a row of bathroom furniture underneath, creating a symmetrical room.
  • You can tie the cabinet finish in with the materials in the rest of the room to make a cohesive interior scheme.
  • They provide the best of both worlds, without compromise, reflection, and storage!

Add a touch of nature to your home this Season.

-

Spring is officially here, suddenly days sitting amongst nature and basking in the sun are regular occurrences, not long lost distant dreams. With that said, it’s always a great idea to bring some of Spring into your home, bringing it to life and providing some much needed colour and freshness. Let the fresh colours inspire! More