What size mirror should you choose, and how high should you hang it?
By Nassim Hasni, publisher of DecoScale · published
Above a sofa, a mirror is 50% to 75% of the width of the furniture; above a bed or a console, two thirds to three quarters, according to the retailer Wayfair. DecoScale hangs the bottom of a mirror 100 cm from the floor when it fits, and keeps its top at least 20 cm below the ceiling. To see yourself in full, it prefers a mirror 150 cm or taller in a bedroom.
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What width of mirror above a sofa, a bed, a console?
A mirror is chosen from the furniture it hangs above. The retailer Wayfair gives three proportions: above a sofa or a mantel, a mirror 25 to 50% narrower than the furniture, that is 50% to 75% of its width; above a headboard or a console, two thirds to three quarters of the width. The chart converts these proportions for common pieces.
| Furniture | Width of the furniture (cm) | Recommended mirror width (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| Sofa | 180 | 90 to 135 |
| Sofa | 200 | 100 to 150 |
| Sofa | 220 | 110 to 165 |
| Sofa | 240 | 120 to 180 |
| Bed | 140 | 93 to 105 |
| Bed | 160 | 107 to 120 |
| Bed | 180 | 120 to 135 |
| Console table | 100 | 67 to 75 |
| Console table | 120 | 80 to 90 |
| Console table | 140 | 93 to 105 |
Wayfair: sofa, 50% to 75% of the width; bed and console, two thirds to three quarters. Page read on 6 October 2026, not checked by DecoScale.
These proportions are an American retailer's, read on its page on 6 October 2026: they are ratios, not room measurements, and DecoScale does not check them. For the width of a sofa, read the width the retailer publishes, arms included. For a bed: bed size guide.
How high should you hang a mirror?
DecoScale hangs the bottom of a mirror 100 cm from the floor by default, above a low piece of furniture: a declared convention, not a measurement, the same as for a shelf or a frame (see the wall shelf height guide). A tall mirror would not fit that way under the ceiling: its top stays at least 20 cm below the ceiling, and its bottom comes down by as much. The chart gives the hanging bottom by mirror height and ceiling height, which DecoScale estimates from your photos.
| Height of the mirror (cm) | Ceiling at 240 cm: hanging bottom (cm) | Ceiling at 250 cm: hanging bottom (cm) | Ceiling at 260 cm: hanging bottom (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 150 | 70 | 80 | 90 |
| 180 | 40 | 50 | 60 |
| 200 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
min(100; ceiling − 20 − height), never below 0: DecoScale's formula.
The Wayfair source gives no hanging height for a living room or a bedroom: this page offers none other than DecoScale's. The centre of a mirror is set by your own eyes, standing in your home.
What size mirror to see yourself in full?
At least half your height, according to Wayfair: 85 cm for a person 170 cm tall. DecoScale asks more in the bedroom: at equal budget, it prefers a mirror at least 150 cm tall, “to see yourself in full”. It is a selection bonus, not an obligation, applied in all ten styles; in the living room, no size preference. In the survey of 6 October 2026, 23 mirrors out of 79 reach 150 cm.
| Your height (cm) | Mirror: at least half (cm) |
|---|---|
| 160 | 80 |
| 170 | 85 |
| 180 | 90 |
| 190 | 95 |
Wayfair: “at least half your height”. DecoScale, in a bedroom: 150 cm or taller, preferably.
What sizes of mirror do retailers sell?
In DecoScale's catalogue, the median width of a mirror runs from 55 to 65 cm depending on the retailer, the median height from 95 to 138 cm. The chart gives, per retailer, the smallest, median and largest values surveyed.
| Retailer | Listings | Width min (cm) | Width median (cm) | Width max (cm) | Height min (cm) | Height median (cm) | Height max (cm) | Listings 150 cm or taller |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEA | 28 | 17 | 60 | 120 | 33 | 95 | 196 | 3 |
| Drawer | 25 | 30 | 55 | 120 | 38 | 120 | 220 | 12 |
| Sklum | 18 | 35 | 60 | 90 | 60 | 103 | 200 | 5 |
| Themasie | 6 | 25 | 65 | 100 | 60 | 138 | 220 | 3 |
Survey of 6 October 2026 over DecoScale's catalogue; retailers with 3 listings or more; not checked by the retailers.
Dated survey of 6 October 2026. 122 listings are filed as “mirror”; 43 are left out, nearly all at IKEA, because the dimension, read from the title (“60x120 cm”), is not certain enough; 79 remain. The numbers are uneven, and no median across all retailers is given: only the figure for the mirror you are looking at counts.
Where does DecoScale hang the mirror?
Against a wall: the back of the mirror stays at most 15 cm from the wall. In a bedroom, it does not put it on the bed's head wall, where the source advises hanging it: that is DecoScale's choice, which keeps that wall for the artwork above the bed and puts the mirror where you see yourself standing. The rule is soft: in a very tight room, it gives way. DecoScale also flags a mirror 90 cm or taller placed in front of a window, and a mirror that covers a radiator within 30 cm. The distances of a whole room are gathered on room layout dimensions.
Which mirrors does DecoScale pick?
Wall mirrors, including a tall “standing” mirror that leans on the wall. It leaves out the tabletop mirror, the stand-on-a-table mirror, the mirror with lighting and the anti-fog mirror: those belong in a bathroom or at a dressing table, not on the wall as decor. Only one style has a preference of shape: Art Deco, which prefers a round mirror.
What DecoScale checks, and what it does not
DecoScale picks the mirror from its catalogue, at its published dimensions, and checks its place on the wall of the room. It judges neither the width of the mirror against the furniture below, nor the height of your eyes, nor the fixing: weight and wall plugs are read on the retailer's page. The plan of the room comes from your photos and two tape-measure dimensions: see the Method page.
Frequently asked questions
What size mirror above a sofa?
50% to 75% of the width of the sofa, according to Wayfair: 100 to 150 cm for a 200 cm sofa. DecoScale does not check that proportion.
How high should you hang a mirror?
DecoScale hangs the bottom 100 cm from the floor when the mirror fits, and keeps the top at least 20 cm below the ceiling: 230 cm at most under 250 cm. It is a convention, not a measurement.
What size mirror to see yourself in full?
At least half your height according to Wayfair; DecoScale prefers 150 cm or taller in the bedroom.
Where do you put a bedroom mirror?
Not on the head wall of the bed, for DecoScale: a bedroom mirror goes where you see yourself standing.
Does DecoScale check how the mirror is fixed?
No: it checks its place on the wall, not its weight or its wall plugs.
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