Ok just to be clear...this is from the Encyclopedia Britanica so we have our history straight: The typical mirror is a sheet of glass that is coated on its back with aluminum or silver that produces images by reflection. The mirrors used in Greco-Roman antiquity and throughout the European Middle Ages were simply slightly convex disks of metal, either bronze, tin, or silver, that reflected light off their highly polished surfaces. A method of backing a plate of flat glass with a thin sheet of reflecting metal came into widespread production in Venice during the 16th century; an amalgam of tin and mercury was the metal used. The chemical process of coating a glass surface with metallic silver was discovered by Justus von Liebig in 1835, and this advance inaugurated the modern techniques of mirror making. Present-day mirrors are made by sputtering a thin layer of molten aluminum or silver onto the back of a plate of glass in a vacuum. In mirrors used in telescopes and other optical instruments, the aluminum is evaporated onto the front surface of the glass rather than on the back, in order to eliminate faint reflections from the glass itself. So Palimp, if the mirror is dated right (and I'd say it's probably a fair guess but I'd want to know how they dated it because that is OFTEN a problem with antiques). I was thinking early 1800's but as I mentioned one way to get a better guess is to see the mirror itself in person. The reflective qualities do often lead you to the right answer. Mercury mirrors can appear to "bubble" (much like the effect you see in becks picture). I don't see that so much in the picture you provided but if you've seen it you would definately know. The reason they "bubble" is that the finish can pull away a bit from the surface since the technique was not as good as the current mirror making processes, or the silvering process. It's a chemical issue that happens over time. Knowing the wood used would help (but not be definative) in figuring out if it's English or American in origins. It's very likely Mahogany since that's what Chippendale style mirrors were made out of primarily, but occasionally walnut was used so you can't entirely rule that out. Chippendale himself rarely used anything but Mahogany for his primary woods, which is why you see so much of it in Chippendale style pieces. I keep trying to get a close enough view of the wood and can't guarantee I see one wood or another. The color looks walnutish but a mahogany mirror can also have that tone. The grain is very tight, but you can see that in both woods as well. I'd certainly want to know the wood though. Walnut would make it more likely to be American verses English for the period. The yellow wood (lesser wood to the piece) would be most likely be beech which was a common secondary wood to chippendale pieces. It adapted itself well to small piece construction and keeps it's yellow tones over time where as some wood will darken. It was also readily available. Mirrors weren't cheap back then...I'm sure it was a well planned piece. The picture does clearly show the wood but without a close up of grain etc, it's difficult to know exactly what it is. Either way, given it has it's original mirror and it hasn't been restored (don't touch the mirror if you buy it!) I'd guess it will sell somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $2,500 unless it can be attributed to a specific cabinet maker of the time, at which point the sky could be the limit.

Hi @goredr, I meant start a new thread where your post was the opening statement. But, I like your picture. It helps very much to describe what you are asking. If you still care to begin your own thread, you just enter it at the top and add the picture along with it. You give the tread a title. Your Title could be something like "advice needed for mirror placement in makeup/vanity area". Or something shorter. I think you will get more feedback with your own post because it will be new. This thread is old and may be ignored. I think a lovely mirror of your choosing would look special and personal to you, between the sconces. It could be a long oval, a rectangle, with or without frame. I think a bevel would be a nice touch, especially with a frameless mirror. Since that is a makeup area, what other lighting will you have? I feel that the lighting you have now, may not be bright enough.

I used to live in Pakistan, which shares many arts and products with India.....for all of their existence, they were one country, until 1947. The material is called "mirror cloth". It is a heavy cotton, and tends to be woven a bit on the loose side...it's not a tight weave like other cottons woven with smaller strands. Not so loosely woven that you can see through it, but still it is loomed a bit more loosely. I have quite a bit of mirror cloth in my home....mostly in the form of pillows. The cloth was hand woven when I lived there (don't know about now), and the small mirrors were hand embroidered into the material in a variety of colors, patterns, etc. I've treated the mirror cloth very carefully.....If I were to clean it, I'd hand wash and let it air dry. I don't know where you'd purchase mirror cloth, but you might check international websites. I think the key is to use the fabric where it won't receive much wear and tear, and will keep clean, so that you rarely have to clean it. I do vacuum my pillows, very carefully on a low setting, with no trouble. If you're going to make drapes from mirror cloth, I recommend you line them because the weight of the cloth will cause it to lose its shape over time, in my opinion.

Consider three mirrors -- one over each sink and one in the center -- or an art piece in the center. Two larger mirrors would also work -- or the tower and a single countertop. But first, I would caution you to make sure your "great deal" really works. I think you need to do more than move the drawers -- the shelf is not showing at the same height as the drawer so that has to be moved, you are going to have exposed plumbing unless you add something to the open area, regardless of what side it is on, and the top is going to have to be modified for a countertop (the wood surround for a baby is not a good fit for a wet area) -- and that's assuming that the height is good. Changing tables tend to be lower than counter heights, so I suspect they would be better suited to vessel sinks than undermount. All of the changes risk damage to the cabinet (weakening it or requiring refinishing). I'm not so sure these are going to be the bargain you want them to be. Double check everything. If they don't work, it would be better to discover that before you start changing them so you can still resell them and recoup what you spent.