Thinking of adding mirrored furniture to your furniture collection? Why not start with a mirrored credenza? Bright, stylish and apt for just about any room, a credenza can be a great way to fill up an empty space in a room while providing ready storage when need arises. One of the greatest advantages in owning a mirrored credenza as opposed to one without a mirror is that is perfectly complements many décor styles and will be a positive addition to your space regardless of the style theme you’ve used.
Where can you Use a Mirrored Credenza?
The mirrored credenza is one of those furniture items that are not bound by space. It looks just as befitting in the hallway as it does in the kitchen, dining room or living room. You can even place it in your bedroom if you have the space.
Use the table top surface of the credenza as a place to hold a flower vase, display your art collection or showcase a few collectibles. In the dining room or kitchen, your mirrored credenza can be where you place your fruit bowl or it can serve as a kitchen island when you don’t have one.
You can store an infinite number of items inside the credenza cabinets and drawers. Magazines, books, dishware, glasses, crockery and small kitchen appliances can all go inside the credenza. Some people even use credenzas in the bathroom. You have free reign of what you can keep inside your credenza if using it in the bathroom. Towels, bathrobes, bathroom supplies, tissue paper – anything that goes into the bathroom cabinet or vanity can be kept in a credenza.
Finding the Right Mirrored Credenza
Like you do when buying any sizeable furniture, consider the size of the room before heading off to buy your mirrored credenza. Match the credenza to your room size, such that a bigger credenza goes into a bigger room. Sometimes, determining what size is ideal for a small room can be tricky. A good safety net is to always check how much space is left after you’ve placed the furniture. Always ensure that there is enough room to walk around and if placing the credenza against a wall, there should be ample room left in front of it. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a cluttered look, a seemingly disorganized look and your room might come across as small when it’s really not small.
Still on size, the credenza should be rightly matched up to your needs. If your storage requirements are huge, a small mirrored credenza will do you no good. Search for a bigger size. Similarly, if you only have a few items to store, choose a much smaller credenza. It’s important to consider future needs when doing all this. If you’re anticipating a stage where you’ll need to use the credenza more or store more stuff in it in the near future, choose a unit that will adequately meet these needs when the time comes, even if it seems unreasonably big now. After all, it is better to have furniture that’s suitable for all seasons than to keep upgrading what you own every time your needs change. If you buy a small mirrored credenza now with a plan to sell it for a bigger model later, it’s possible you’ll end up spending more. For one, you’re likely to sell the old credenza at a much lower price than you bought it; which will mean digging into your pocket to find the difference needed to buy a new, bigger unit.
The mirrored sections of the credenza are a style statement on their own. There are no rules to the kind of mirror you can use. Neither are there any limitations. Be as bold as you like or choose to keep this part understated. But be warned: There is nothing understated about the mirror. No matter how hard to minimize its visibility, it still shines through and can easily overshadow every other aspect of the furniture. So what’s the best way to handle it? Let its brilliance shine through. Use this reflective angle to your advantage, by letting it become the focal point of the furniture and by extension, the room. Then you won’t have to worry about adding accents to capture the mood of the room because the credenza does that for you, and does it well.
Some mirrors come in the form of clear glass, some are opaque and others are coloured. As you can see, there’s plenty of choice on the kind of mirror you can have on your credenza. Each gives a different aura so consider the general ambience you’d like to have in the room and then choose a mirror that gives a similar ambience or one as close to it as possible.
Mirrored credenzas come in a myriad of designs. Traditional designs are perfect when you’re looking for an ornate, intricate piece. The typical traditional credenza comes in bold curves and edges, with features like cabinet knobs and drawer handles deliberately designed to stand out. It is not unusual to find models trimmed in gold and silver. Modern mirrored credenzas are every home stylist’s dream. They’re bold, subtly ornamented to go with minimalist home styles, but many also give a luxurious vibe that’s a matching fit for any lavishly styled space.
The frame of your credenza can be finished in the same colour as the mirror for a uniform look. You may also go for contrast by picking a frame of a different colour. Match it to the rest of the room furniture or, again, go for some contrast.
Check that the credenza meets your expectations for the application you intend to use it in. A credenza that is purely ornamental needs to have a more attractive design than one that serves a purely functional role. If yours will be a decorative piece placed in the entryway, make sure that it’s as eye catching as possible. If you’re using it for storage, see to it that it has sufficient drawers and cabinets.
Mirrored Credenza Features
Each mirrored credenza comes with some basic features regardless of style and design. The actual difference is in the add-ons or extra features, which though not mandatory in the credenza, can help make it a better choice or at the very least, distinguish it from other credenzas. Here is what a basic mirrored credenza structure entails:
Table top: It forms the top part of the credenza and many times provides a surface on which to place any number of items. When you bring the credenza to the bedroom, the table top can be where you keep your reading materials, work files, flowers, table lamp, art display or crafts. In the kitchen or dining room, it can be a holding place for your dinnerware and other appliances and utensils. Place one in your home office and you have extra room to keep your files and other work tools. In the living room, your credenza table top can be a display cabinet.
Cabinets: They play a huge storage role and can hold anything from a few towels to spare bedding in the bedroom, dishware in the dining room or kitchen, and game consoles in the family room. Generally, you only need to customize the storage to match the needs of the particular room where you’re using the mirrored credenza.
Drawers: Like cabinets, credenza drawers also act as storage. Use them to keep smaller items.
Hooks: Some credenzas have hooks inside the cabinets where you can hang a few items.
Mirror: The reflective, glass part of the credenza which gives it the mirror effect. Mirrors can be placed on various parts, including the cabinet fronts, sides and table tops. In some designs, all three parts will be covered in mirror, with the frame being the only part made from a different material.
The extras vary from design to design, and in premium models, manufacturers offer a lot more extra features than you get in low and mid-priced credenzas. Here are some of the most common extras:
Ornamental knobs: They’re added to serve a decorative role in addition to aiding in the opening of cabinet doors and drawers.
Trim: Can be added to corners and edges to set them apart and give them a decorative advantage.
Organizers: To be used in cabinets and drawers. A credenza with closet organizers proves to be far more practical as it can conveniently store a more diverse variety of items.
A mirrored credenza is one of those multi functional furniture units that can be placed in any room. Its glowing mirror adds a stylish brilliance to any space and will greatly enhance the room’s décor. Credenzas come in a range of styles, with variations of the traditional style and spin-offs of numerous contemporary styles readily available in stores. The best part in considering a credenza placement in any room is that the furniture goes well with many décor styles, and will therefore complement whatever style you’ve used in the room.