Have seen this a lot in our area as well. Newer and remodeled homes with full frameless mirrors over the vanity. Will be doing a bathroom remodel soon myself, and can't decide which look I prefer. Love the clean, simple look of the single frameless mirror, but having grown up with them, am afraid I won't be able to ignore the dreaded "d....." vibe. Perhaps individual beveled mirrors over each sink - no heavy frames - might be a reasonable compromise.

What to do?

I chose it for our master bath in our recent remodel, partly *for* the 'dated' vibe. (or is it some other word I'm not guessing?). Mere 'dated'ness is never a reason to abandon something that works, in my book. And our bath is kind of small, so having the sconces come through the mirror reflects the light and multiplies it. Never thought to have anything different. Well, I did, but dismissed it quickly : )

I see it a lot in my area also. When touring local, newly built homes that are $1M and up, I often see frameless mirrors. After awhile it begins to look unusual when I come across a bath with wood framed mirrors.
I've also noticed that when the room has lots of marble, or some other natural stone, the frame around the mirror is often of the same material.

I've never considered it dated, but just an option that may best fit a given design.

I think HGTV has influenced too many opinions. That network is just one big commercial. One shouldn't equate what you see there as REAL at all. The large frame less mirror is what is NEEDED if you have short people i.e. kids. It is a practical choice. It is most useful and it makes the room feel bigger. Contrary to HGTV most homes do not have 1/4 of their square footage in bathrooms. We recently sold a family home. It was "new" in the 90's. Beautiful honey oak cabinets,laminate counters,white appliances, large mirrors in three bathrooms, vertical blinds on EVERY window. It sold a week before we were going to put it on the market for top dollar. There was a bidding war going on. If one listened to HGTV it should have been on the market for YEARS. It was purchased by a young professional family. Clean and well maintained I am convinced is the most important.

I look at a lot of real estate too. I have noticed the same trend here among the uber expensive houses. The thing is, in my town, the 16 million dollar houses do not exemplify good taste. In fact, they offer a panorama of ideas regarding what not to do! They are the opposite of "inspiration" houses.

Yes, these people can afford to use whatever materials they want, and nine out of ten times they choose badly...very badly. Money and taste do not always equate.

If someone prefers to have a frameless mirror in the bathroom, by all means, they should have one, but I don't look to the high-end real estate in my area for design cues!

The $1.68 per sq. ft. tile I recently had installed in my guest bath has loads more style than a lot of the wildly pricey weirdness I see in these houses.

But hey, if it cost a lot, it must be good, right?

I agree that it's definitely a personal choice, but I like the big mirrors. I think the large wood framed mirrors will become more dated looking sooner than later. I do have one of those in my powder bath, but am thinking about keeping the large mirrors over the sink in the new house bath remodel. The mirrors will reflect from the windows and make the room feel bigger and more light filled.

Frameless mirrors are not dated they are timeless. I personally love the clean look of a simple beveled mirror. They work in a room regardless of its style or decor and the larger ones can really make a smaller bathroom look larger. They're more functional than framed because they can be used by more than one person at a time and to me, they have a pretty and unfussy look to them. What's not to like about them?

I'm going to have to look at some real-estate online around here. It's not something I do often, so I'm not really sure what is current here. I do know, that in the homes of friends and family I'm in, it's more of the older "could-use-some-updating" baths that still have these mirrors. Having had them in two homes before building this one, I am still enjoying my smaller, framed mirrors.

tina

I have been looking at properties to "flip"....some are mansion sized. It's all on sale....and yes....BIG mirrors are still all the rage. Bigger is better is the thought process. A BIG mirror cost more than a small mirror....so why would an expensive item NOT be chic? I get it...the frameless part is the "update". :0)

And jetted garden tubs are still being installed....the spa experience. :0)

Keep the observations coming Pal....

DH was mortified when I considered taking out the large mirrors in our master bath. His reply was "Why would you replace something that works well with something that doesn't?"

As for the garden tub...ugh. I'm trying to budget when and how we can get rid of ours. To me, it's not so much about how it looks, as to how functional it is. It's difficult to get in and out of- I've almost fallen a few times, and it's difficult to clean- you have to actually get in it to clean it thoroughly and to clean the far wall.

I am thinking about facelifting a small bath on the main floor and this is a sticking point, the large mirror makes the room seem bigger and reflects lots of the light fron the fixture. However, a framed mirror would be more stylish.

Yep, I just bought a house on the mid-high range in my area and I don't think I saw any framed bathroom mirrors. My Grandmother is one of the top agents in our area and she's heard no mention from buyers as this being something they want, ha ha. There is an expectation for stainless steel appliances and granite counters though. All of the bathrooms in our new home have very large frameless mirrors and I have no intention of changing that even though it would be a fairly easy fix. I think it would look too heavy in these particular bathrooms. I do like both looks though, but it really depends.

For me, it is all about cleaning....or rather, not cleaning.

At 5'1", I can wipe my entire 30" round mirror, including the lighted frame, as often as I am moved to do so. When I had the full-wall mirrors, it involved a step ladder and a certain amount of scrambling up onto the vanity -- quite a project.

For this same reason, I chose to forgo the glass shower enclosure I'd planned in this house. I have a rather "fancy" walk-in double shower with a $19 fabric curtain. When the last house was on the market, I was a slave to those glass shower walls. Chucking the curtain into the wash every so often feels freeing.

I don't think either is a bad thing, thats not really what I am trying to say. Also, when I say "even in [expensive properties]", what I am relating is that all the way from the top to the bottom of the market, I am seeing gigantic frameless, and smaller, framed.

I was also thinking that with regard to the real estate shows that people are not just leaving the big mirrors behind because they are uninformed about how cheap and easy it is to change them, they are still actively being installed.

And sure, expensive doesn't always in good taste, but some of these properties included 19th c. restored houses, one designed by IM Pei, and an interior or two done by other published interior designers and architects.--the rejoinder to the tongue in check "if its expensive, its got to be good" is just because its an update that is inexpensive, available at Home Depot and easily accomplished by the sellers as a quick update doesn't mean its good either. (But it doesn't mean its bad. Its just different.)

There are lots of things out there that the "design experts" on real estate shows (Read: telegenic TV host with a degree in theatre communications and an "interest" in design) tell us are bad bad bad being installed and embraced every day.

Yes, user-friendliness is a good thing!

Guess each space dictates what works.

All three of my bathrooms have plate glass mirrors. The one in the tiny powder room is 30x40. Seems like too much mirror for such a small space to me. I'd like to see a mirror in there that was more in scale with the room.

The 10x6' guest bath has one that is 72x40". I don't mind it in there. It does sort of make the space feel like it has more depth. I have only one sink on that 72" long vanity. If I put a single, framed mirror over the sink it may seem disproportionate with the vanity, and the wall would seem so blank around it I think.

Then there's the master bath! The one I need to gut! the vanity is 128" long. I have two plate glass mirrors, each are 46x40" with a window in the middle of the two. New cabinets will be between 3 and 4" taller than my current ones. Counter's backsplash will go up accordingly, and there won't be room for these mirrors.

Guess I could have them cut, but that may be as expensive as buying new mirrors. I'll have to check that out. I thought about having them cut into circles! Would that be pricey or cost effective, (or just silly, regardless of price?) It may be better in this case to just buy two matching mirrors of some sort.

I like those oval tilt mirrors. See them in Pottery Barn catalogs and at Lowes and HD. They must be a trend that's going to be a flash in the pan since they're getting "over-exposed." They look clean and classic and simple...all qualities that I appreciate.

Well what gets my goat (that dates me!) is when everyone replaces their functional vanity setup with a pedestal sink because it's the latest style. Then, because they no longer have the hidden storage which is necessary in the bathroom, they clutter up said bathroom with shelving and trays and all the other disfunctional appurtenances to store toilet paper, towels, extra soap and tissues instead of a nice, clean and functional look. Not saying that we need to keep that old 'dated' honey oak vanity, but there are plenty of beautiful enclosed vanities out there without having to reinvent the wheel. And all my bathrooms have large plate glass mirrors except for my powder room! I'm vertically challenged and I can see myself in them.

Helene

True, Pal, I don't mean to suggest that all budget friendly choices are superior to pricey ones, of course. There are exquisite, impeccable materials well worth every cent. They are wonderful to behold when chosen wisely.

Just wanted to throw out there that I've also seen some horrendous choices that cost a fortune. It's sad.

In your area, the rich and famous are no doubt less obsessed with displaying wealth in the most conspicuous, ostentatious manner possible. That seems to be the name of the game around here, however!

Also don't mean to dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back about my cheap tile, (though I am happy with and do feel it would have been silly to pay more!)

I like tilt mirrors too, stinky -- they solve the problem of needing to be able to see, for short people, but still can have that contained, framed look too. I first realized I liked them when I found myself gravitating to the tilted ADA mirrors in public rest rooms -- they just let me see more than the straight-on mirrors.

Flyleft, thanks for your feedback regarding the tilt mirrors. I think they're so pretty, but are they trendy with a big T? What must one keep in mind about lighting with these? Are sconces on each side the only option that looks right?

Here is a link that might be useful: tilt mirror

I have to chuckle to myself when I read this. When we built our house in 1990, I instructed the finish carpenter to make 26 x 42 frames above all three of the first floor vanities, with mirrors behind them. Did I know then what the "trend" would be 20 years later? No, I just knew what I thought would look good. The two upstairs baths have the full sized frameless mirrors, which have also worked well, but are harder to clean. If I were to do it again, I would have had frames built around those mirrors, too.

stinky, I haven't given any thought to how to light them (although I would think the light has to come from farther out into the room than the surface of the mirror-that's one thing off the top of my head) -- but the only thing that's trendy to me about them is the whole catalogue-page look -- if you avoid that, and make it your own in a room that fits your needs and desires, it might be something that's 'in' right now, but will still be *yours* for however long you like it.

i dont know how much of a trend either is, really. the first bathroom i remember with large frameless mirrors was remodeled in the 1940s, and it had two mirror covered walls above glass tile wainscot --large architectural tile --. very deco-moderne.

and framed mirrors probably went over every lavatory sink as plumbing came to the masses. i think of the small framed mirror above the upstairs bathroom sink in my grandmother's farmhouse that was there when they bought the house in 1940 and still is. that bathroom, with the exception of a 'new' toilet--1950s--is as built around 1900, not for any reason other than i grew up in a milieu where people pretty much left things like kitchens and baths the way they came when they bought the house.

palimpsest, I don't know where in Philly you're looking, but DH's great aunt's home is for sale in the super desirable Germantown area, more specifically Wayne. Here's the listing info.

It's not in the disarray that some of the homes you're looking at are, but the kitchen is both tiny and dated, and I could see you doing some fantastic things with it.

I think both types of mirrors -- frameless & framed -- could be considered "classic" because both have been around for decades. The house my parents built in 1953 had frameless mirrors over the vanities in the bathrooms.

When I remodeled all my bathrooms in my house which was built in 1978, I kept the frameless wall mirrors in all the bathrooms, because 1) I don't have adequate mirrors in the house for people to see their full reflections, AND 2) because these mirrors add much needed light & the appearance of larger space to these 3 baths. I didn't want to sacrifice light reflection by replacing these mirrors with something else. It truly is an individual preference.

Interestingly, not a single person visiting my home has commented on the mirrors or asked why I didn't change those out when I totally remodeled the bathrooms.

Lax

That's a great house--colonial revival is a very comfortable style for me--but its above my budget and miles outside my radius. I have considered much further in on the Main Line (first or second stop)--one of the houses is literally across the street from Philadelphia proper. My Realtor has told me if I want to look at those to do it on my own: she says she'll feel guilty if she sells me a house in the suburbs because we will want to move back in a year.

Everything old is new again! I think it's because of Mad Men and the retro-renewal vibe going on these days...

LOL! wha? my short people ...er, KIDS don't require a frameless mirror just because they are vertically challenged! they each have step stools that pull out from under the vanity and mirrors that tilt.

HGTV annoys me. there's nothing new or inspiring, except candace. that woman could make a cave look lovely by lighting alone.

There you go, mirrors that tilt. I do like those. And I don't even need a stool.

palimpsest, LOL at your agent's line. When we were new to the area, I saw a home with a nice amount of land, finally at a price we could afford for the kind of gardening space I wanted, and my agent said it was way out in the country, zip code E-I-E-I-O. Agent humor...

Interesting question. I've been debating whether to get rid of mine or keep it. I like it because you can really see yourself in a big area. I dislike it because it's not very stylish, IMO.

That said, I would like to introduce you all to a young lady who obviously loves hers. In this short little video, she demonstrates for us exactly how those mirrors should be used. My favorite comment someone made -- the comment that made me laugh out loud, is "No wonder she's so happy. She has a pink bathtub!"

What do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Jessica's

I'm sure your realtor's right. Suburbia no matter how close to the main line, is a hard pill to swallow for someone who's accustomed to walking everywhere.

We are doing a big remodel in our master bath. The mirror that was in there was really big, probably 6.5 feet long and tall. We're going to use use a large plate glass mirror again, but frame it with some tile. The lighting will be installed through the mirror.

I wasn't sure about it, but that area of the bathroom is dark, and I think the mirror will help with that.

Beth P.

Lax, perhaps more to the point in Pal's case (just guessing) is that Suburbia is a bitter pill to swallow for someone with his aesthetic sensibilities.

Your aunt's home is a gem. Someone will surely scoop it up and treasure it.

The Main Line is a pretty beautiful string of suburbs when you stay close to the train. There is a lot of commercial overcrowding and traffic because it is shoe horned into some relatively compact town centers, but there are really nice examples of everything from late Victorian to MCM strung out along the line. The cookie cutter kind of stuff is spread away from that.

If I could afford an "expensive" master bath I would take two beautiful antique silver gilded Louis Philippe Mirrors above each marble countered sink.

first I wish that the houses I have been looking at online DID any kind of update.....or at least something more than making their kitchen cabinets like ones that were on fire...seriously. (I don't even know what you call that look)

and 2, I was watching the infamous Bang 4 your buck--bathrooms--maybe $50 or $60K? renos--one did indeed have the frameless giant mirror and the designer (that tall blonde one) liked the entire thing, a lot.

Pal, why didn't I know you lived around here? What was I thinking? I'm in Chester County.

Pal, yes, of course, the Main Line. Home of some of the most desirable, sought after real estate on the east coast, if not the country. Not exactly your typical suburb. One could definitely do worse!