Placing a mirror in the bathroom is not a problem. The problem is choosing between framed vs frameless bathroom mirror; the best among them. It is not easy to select the type you want for your bathroom as both do their job effortlessly and of course the several things that need to be considered before choosing the bathroom mirror.
When we say framed vs frameless bathroom mirror, which is best for bathrooms, we mean which among the two will serve you better than the other, which is most durable, easy to maintain, less expensive if you are on a budget, and easy to hang. However, in this post, we will discuss the framed vs frameless bathroom mirror, their advantages and disadvantages, and finally, a comparative analysis between the two to see which is best for your bathroom.
Framed and frameless bathroom mirrors are both okay to be used in bathrooms, but frameless mirrors are more popular and suitable for all bathroom sizes. If you want the mirror to blend with the color on your bathroom cabinet, choose a framed mirror. If you want a sophisticated, luxurious looking bathroom, go for the frameless mirror as it is suitable for all bathroom sizes.
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Framed Bathroom Mirrors
This type of bathroom mirror features a frame made either from wood, metal, or plastic, etc. There is nothing much to say about this. The principal thing you should know is that it can have a wooden, metal, or plastic frame.
Imagine how your bathroom will look if you frame the mirror with the same color as the bathroom cabinet on top where the mirror is hanged. Classy Right? Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of framed bathroom mirrors.
Advantages of Framed Bathroom Mirror
- Color Complement: If your bathroom mirror framed color is the same as that of your bathroom cabinet, hanging it over the cabinet will help make your bathroom look more luxurious and elegant.
- Easy to Clean: Cleaning a bathroom framed mirror is very easy to do. Supposed the mirror is hanged over your bathroom cabinet, it won’t take you so much strength to clean it while cleaning your cabinet.
Disadvantages of Framed Bathroom Mirror
- Provide Less Coverage: A framed bathroom mirror provides less coverage. This is because the area that is supposed to add to the coverage is framed, reducing the range.
- Prone to Moisture: Framed bathroom mirror is not suitable for a moisture-related area. The fault is not from the mirror; instead, the wood the framework is made with. Most woods are not ideal for humidity and moisture-related space. Even if you decide to use metal, there is a high chance that the metal may rust.
- Difficult to Select: When buying a framed bathroom mirror, you may find it challenging to get one that the frame color is the same as your bathroom cabinet color. However, it’s a must to get a framed mirror the same color as the cabinet; else, it will change the bathroom’s look. Except you will have the mirror custom made for you. That will still cost you some money to do.
Frameless Bathroom Mirror
From what we have known so far, a frameless mirror is a type that does not have any wood, metal, or plastic frame around it. It is the type that can give your bathroom that sophisticated look you’re looking for. However, there are several advantages and disadvantages of frameless bathroom mirrors. Let’s take a look at them.
Advantage of Frameless Bathroom Mirror
- Provides Full Coverage: Frameless bathroom mirror provides full coverage because nothing covered parts of the mirror.
- Easy To Select: You don’t have to waste too much time selecting a bathroom mirror because you are not concerned about the frame’s color. Once you figure out the size and shape you want to get, then choosing one won’t be hard at all.
- Not Have to Worry About the Frame: Since it’s a frameless mirror, it saves you the headache of worrying that humidity and moisture are affecting the frame, this and that. It also saves your strength of trying to clean the frame.
- Best for Small Space: I’ve always said that choosing a perfect place to place your bathroom mirror is essential. However, with a frameless mirror, even if space where you want to put it, is small, it will fit perfectly and still bring out the beauty of the bathroom.
Disadvantages of Frameless Bathroom Mirror
One noticeable disadvantage of frameless mirrors is that they can easily get chips at the edge. After a matter of time, the edge part of the mirror may get chipped, especially if it is being touched or moved frequently. This is not certain and should not discourage you from buying a frameless bathroom mirror.
Comparative Analysis Between Framed and Frameless Bathroom Mirror
- Below are the similarities and differences between framed bathroom mirrors and frameless bathroom mirrors.
- Both framed and frameless mirrors can make your bathroom look more sophisticated and luxurious. All you have to do is choose the perfect size and shape and hang them in an ideal place in your bathroom.
- While frameless bathroom mirrors provide full coverage, framed mirrors do not.
- While frameless bathroom mirrors are very easy to select, framed mirrors may be quite challenging to choose as you would want to choose one that has the same color as your bathroom vanities.
- While the frameless mirror’s edge is easier to chip when touched or moved frequently, framed bathroom mirrors do not chip at the edge.
- While frameless and framed bathroom mirrors are both okay for small spaces or small bathrooms, frameless mirrors are perfect for a small bathroom.
- With a frameless bathroom mirror, you don’t have to worry about moisture and humidity affecting the frame’s material, unlike the framed mirror. It may always bother you when you noticed that water is affecting the frame.
Between Framed and Frameless bathroom Mirror, Which is best for the Bathroom?
Both frameless and framed bathroom mirrors are best for the bathroom. Frameless mirrors are best for small spaces, while framed mirrors are perfect for a larger space. Also, framed bathrooms are best for mirrors over bathroom cabinets, especially if they have the same color. However, you can choose one that suits your taste and go for it.
Things to Consider Before Buying Framed or Frameless Bathroom Mirror
Before buying either a framed or frameless bathroom mirror, there are many things to consider, which should also serve as a guide in purchasing the mirror because you don’t want to buy something that does not suit your bathroom. The things to consider before choosing the size of your bathroom mirror are:
1. The Size of your Bathroom and where you want to Place the Mirror
Taking account of your bathroom size before choosing a bathroom mirror is an ideal thing to do as it will let you select a perfect size mirror for your bathroom. Also, it would be best if you verified where you want to place this mirror.
The best place to put a bathroom mirror is over the basin or sink to give your bathroom an elegant look. Knowing the area and knowing the size of the position will help you choose a perfectly fitted mirror for your bathroom.
2. The Height of the Mirror
Whether it’s a framed or frameless mirror you wish to get for your bathroom, make sure the mirror will be placed at a perfect height. The height can be a foot above and below the eye line of the bathroom owner. Whether you are tall or short, this rule is still applicable.
Moreover, the taller the mirror is, the more it enhances the sense of space in the bathroom. Aside from that, the extra height of the mirror promises to provide more viewing angles. Therefore, take this into considerations before making a move to purchase one.
3. Should not be Wider then Bathroom Sink
It is not ideal for a bathroom mirror to be wider than the sink. First of all, it will degrade the beauty of other interiors in the bathroom and make it almost impossible to place bathroom sconces. It’s not just about purchasing a bathroom mirror; it’s about getting a mirror that will enable you to continue with your bathroom decorations.
If you are very conversant with this website, you will notice that there was a post we published about the perfect place in the bathroom to place bathroom sconces, and right in that post, we said that it is best to place a bathroom sconce over the top of the mirror especially if you are using an oval or round (circular) mirror and at both sides of the mirror if it’s rectangular.
However, if you get a bigger bathroom mirror than your sink, you will definitely run out of space to place the bathroom sconces. Trust me; there are many useful duties a bathroom sconces can do in your bathroom, especially if you are the type that shaves or applies makeup in your bathroom.
4. Choose a Mirror that Fills the Entire Wall
You can choose a mirror that can fill your entire bathroom wall. This type of mirror shape makes small bathrooms look luxurious and bigger. It can either be wall to wall or up to the ceiling.
However, there are many things you need to take note of if you want the mirror to fill the entire space. You have to make sure that your bathroom sink has a cabinet under it. It is not ideal to use this kind of wall to wall mirror over a pedestal sink. Remember what we discussed earlier; your bathroom mirror is not supposed to wider than your bathroom sink.
Therefore, you have to make sure to have a cabinet under your bathroom sink that runs wall to wall. Then you can place the mirror over the sink to run wall to wall. Doing this will enhance the beauty of your bathroom. If you use a wall to wall mirror, you can place the sconce over the mirror. Make sure it’s that type of Sconces that has double lights/bulbs on it.
5. The Type of Sink You Have
Before choosing and purchasing any framed or frameless bathroom mirror, it is ideal for verifying the type of sink you have as that will guide you to selecting the perfect size for your bathroom mirror.
Some bathroom has a single sink; could be pedestal sink, could still be a single sink on top of the bathroom cabinet, while others may have a double bathroom sink. Whichever one your bathroom has, you should buy a mirror using that guide.
However, if you have a double sink on top of the cabinet, you have two options. You can either get a mirror that can fit across the full width of your bathroom cabinet or hang two separate mirrors and place sconces on either side of it.
One advantage of using two mirrors over one large mirror is that it is likely to create more space for bathroom lightings as these lightings can be very handy when using the mirror.
If you intend to place sconces on either side of your bathroom, you must still follow the rule explained in number 3 above. Even if the mirror should span across the full width of the cabinet, you should choose one that is 60-70% of the width of your bathroom cabinet or sink. Doing this will give you enough space to still fix sconces in your bathroom.
6. Bathroom Mirrors with Heated Demisters, Shaver Socket, and LED Lights
Before choosing the size and type of bathroom mirror for your bathroom, it is better to get one that has heated demisters. Doing this will not only make your morning bathroom routine more effortless; it will also prevent the mirror from steaming up during a hot shower because of the heated demister pad used in making the mirror. You can find this kind of feature in most anti-fog mirrors.
However, getting a bathroom mirror with heated demisters will save it from always steaming up. It may not totally eradicate the fog, but it will definitely prevent it from happening. With this, you no longer need always to wipe your bathroom with a towel anytime you take a hot shower.
Even if you want to use either a framed or frameless bathroom mirror, why not get one that has LED light. You can do this if you don’t wish to install scones around your bathroom mirror. The LED light from the mirror will replace the one you would have had, had you installed sconces around the mirror. However, you can ignore this if you wish to install sconces on either side of your mirror.
For men, buying a bathroom mirror with a shaver socket is the best. It will give you the best experience you can ever have in a bathroom. The built-in shaver socket is usually located at the side of the mirror, so you don’t have to worry whether it will make the mirror ugly. It won’t.
It will be convenient for you anytime you come to your bathroom to shave. Just get this type of mirror and thank me later. However, you can ignore this if you already have a socket where you can plug your clipper or if you have a rechargeable clipper.
Final Thoughts
Considering the things you need to know before buying a bathroom mirror, go ahead and go with the one you prefer depending on what you want in your bathroom. You can either use framed or frameless mirrors in your bathroom as they both can make your bathroom look more luxurious.
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