How do I choose between art and a mirror for my foyer?

It depends on what you want to accomplish. Art adds color, warmth, and personality to your home. Mirrors enlarge and expand a room, are handy to have for that last glance before a night on the town, and can make a powerful fashion statement.

I want to place a large mirror in our foyer, but how can I hang it securely?

This is not a problem if you have the right hanging hardware and a hammer. The best hanging hardware for most walls is the J-hook. It is designed to keep the nail that goes into the wall at a sharp angle, so that even in drywall, it will stay in place. It is important that the J-hook be properly weighted for the item you want to hang. On most products, we include the proper J-hook and nails to make sure you have exactly the hardware you need for hanging each piece.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t hang my mirrors and pictures level on the first try. Any secrets?

The most common way to hang is to hold the mirror or picture against the wall where you want it to be, have someone else step back and level the item from sight, and then mark the wall with a pencil where the hangers should be. A level can be used to make sure the item is perfectly straight before the wall is marked.

What is the difference between a carved wood mirror frame and a moulded polyurethane frame?

Mostly the price. With today’s technology, a solid core polyurethane frame feels and looks like wood. It lasts just as long as wood and absorbs a finish just like wood. The other type of frame construction we use frequently is metal, either wrought iron or hand forged steel.

Framed mirrors really vary in price. Why is this?

There are many obvious reasons, but one less obvious reason is the frame finish. Frames can be finished very inexpensively with sprays, paper-wraps, and foil-wraps, but the more attractive finishes have numerous steps including hand-laid metal leaf and hand-antiquing. This gives a richer, deeper metallic finish like the Old World finishes of the past.

Does the bevel on a mirror add much to the cost?

Not as much as you may think. Straight bevels are cut and polished using current technology at a modest cost. Most shaped beveled mirrors require much more labor because they are cut and polished one at a time by hand. The wider the bevel, the more costly it is to produce.

I have a mirror that has black spots. Will it continue to corrode?

Probably. Older mirrors and mirrors not properly protected on the back tend to corrode over time as they are exposed to the natural elements of pollution, salt in the air, temperature and moisture changes, etc. However, the mirrors we offer features the latest technology to seal the mirror backs from all the natural elements. You should see no deterioration of our mirrors.

Will the humidity and changing temperatures in a bathroom damage a mirror or picture frame?

No. Good quality frame finishes are sealed with multiple coats of sealer or lacquer to withstand normal usage in a bathroom.