{"product_id":"antique-gold-arched-beaded-overmantle-mirror","title":"Antique Gold Arched Beaded Overmantle Mirror","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"d-sec\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"d-h\"\u003eWhat an Arched Mirror Adds to a Room\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"d-p\"\u003eA mirror hung above furniture sits higher than eye level, which changes what it is for. Nobody stands in front of one to check an outfit. What it returns instead is the ceiling, the far wall and whatever light is in the room behind you, and it does that from the plane most walls have the least of: the space above a shelf, a console or a chest. That is why a mirror in this position brightens a room in a way that one hung lower does not. It is working on the light rather than on the reflection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"d-p\"\u003eThe arch is the other half of it. Rooms are built almost entirely from straight lines and right angles, and the walls we hang things on tend to be the worst offenders: doorframes, skirting, shelving, screens, the furniture underneath. A curved top interrupts all of that with one gesture. It is also a shape with some history behind it, borrowed from windows and openings, which is why an arched frame reads as considered rather than novel. At 1100 mm tall and 850 mm wide the proportions are generous without dominating a standard wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"d-p\"\u003e1100 mm tall, 850 mm wide, 42 mm deep, 10.45 kg. Plain glass, beaded paulownia frame, gessoed and finished in hand-applied gold leaf with an aged champagne patina, on an MDF backing with D-rings fitted. For the same finish at full length standing on the floor, the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.theurbanmill.co.uk\/products\/hand-crafted-antique-style-leaner-mirror-cream-mr79cr\"\u003eHand Crafted Antique Style Leaner Mirror in Cream\u003c\/a\u003e covers the leaner format in a softer painted tone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"d-sec\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"d-h d-hu\"\u003eWhat Makes This Mirror Work\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"d-ul\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eGenerous but manageable proportions.\u003c\/span\u003e 1100 mm tall by 850 mm wide. Large enough to hold a wall on its own, contained enough to sit above a console, sideboard, chest or mantel without crowding what is underneath.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eAn arch against all those straight lines.\u003c\/span\u003e Most of what surrounds a mirror is square-edged. The curve is usually the only thing on that wall that is not, which is what makes it read as deliberate.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eHand-applied gold leaf over gesso.\u003c\/span\u003e Real metal laid onto a chalk ground worked smooth beneath it. Leaf reflects light directionally, so the beading is bright along one edge and shadowed along the other.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eChampagne, not bright gold.\u003c\/span\u003e The patina is taken back to something closer to antique brass. Warm enough for a period room, restrained enough for a plain modern one.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eLight where a room tends to need it.\u003c\/span\u003e The wall above furniture is often the dullest surface in the room. A mirror there returns daylight and lamplight rather than absorbing them.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003e10.45 kg on two D-rings.\u003c\/span\u003e Paulownia keeps the weight sensible for the size. One-way hanging, so the fixings need to be level first time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"d-sec\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"d-h\"\u003eHow High to Hang It and What to Hang It Above\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"d-p\"\u003eThe working rule for a mirror above furniture is that it should span roughly two thirds to three quarters of the piece beneath it. At 850 mm wide this one suits consoles, sideboards, chests and mantel shelves between about 1100 mm and 1300 mm, which covers most of what people hang mirrors above. Leave 100 mm to 150 mm of clear wall between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame, so the mirror sits above it rather than on it. Centre it on the furniture rather than on the room. And allow for the full 1100 mm height plus that gap before marking anything, since on a low ceiling the arch can end up crowding a picture rail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"d-sec\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"d-h\"\u003eWhere It Works Best\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"d-p\"\u003eAbove a hallway console, where the arch answers a front door with a fanlight and the mirror doubles the daylight coming in with it. In a dining room over a sideboard, bouncing candlelight back across the table. Above a bedroom chest of drawers, hung slightly lower than usual so it can still be used properly. On a landing opposite a window, where it has something worth returning. Above a fireplace, which is the position the overmantel proportions were originally drawn for, and equally on the wall where a fireplace used to be in a room that still wants a focal point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"d-sec\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"d-h\"\u003eWhat to Know Before You Order\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"d-ul\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eFixings for 10.45 kg, level first time.\u003c\/span\u003e Wall plugs and rated screws into masonry, hollow-wall anchors or a stud on plasterboard. Chimney breasts and older walls can be studded out rather than solid, so check before you drill. One-way hanging means there is no adjusting the balance afterwards.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eGilding is dusted, never sprayed.\u003c\/span\u003e A dry soft cloth on the frame. No polish, no damp cloth, nothing abrasive. Dampen a cloth away from the mirror if you need to clean the glass, rather than spraying anything onto it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eEvery frame ages differently.\u003c\/span\u003e The leaf is laid and the patina worked by hand, so depth and wear vary between pieces and against the photography. That is what separates a hand-finished frame from a sprayed one.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"d-li\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"d-lbl\"\u003eIf it is going above a working fire.\u003c\/span\u003e A mantel shelf deflects most rising heat, which is what it is there for. Above a stove or an open fire, follow the appliance manufacturer's clearance guidance and avoid any position where timber and gilding would sit in direct or sustained heat.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"The Urban Mill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56795339850108,"sku":"MR503G","price":176.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0742\/9672\/1715\/files\/arched-antique-gold-mirror-styled-on-modern-bookshelf.jpg?v=1779284599","url":"https:\/\/www.theurbanmill.co.uk\/products\/antique-gold-arched-beaded-overmantle-mirror","provider":"The Urban Mill","version":"1.0","type":"link"}