I think it's a very cool feature.

I would keep it until you completely de-clutter and move out the TV. After that, please post pictures.

I always start with the lesser difficulty and easiest to change first, but I’m not a pro.

IMO remove the mirror and the shelves and replace with a large piece of art it would be nice to see your furniture though.

i think the midmod look of mirror and glass shelves is a good one. But! The current brackets holding up your shelves are cheap and make the whole wall look cheap. Perhaps update with black wrought iron brackets? Or warm wood brackets? Or stainless steel?

Jeanne Seefus, thank you.

CindyR, will do.

Patricia Colwell Consulting, replacing it with a large piece of art is do-able. I could even make something myself, perhaps a generously sized diptych.

Brown Dog, I think you nailed it with pointing out how terrible those brackets are! Oh, you've given me lots of great ideas to explore.

Thanks, everyone!

I have removed one section to focus that attention on the center section. The issue is not the mirror, but the standards and brackets. They are the issue. And I don't see how simply replacing them makes this better.

This could be a good place to mix a cocktail.

I'll need to examine the existing standards to see if they can be swapped out without breaking the mirrors, but maybe something like this would raise the style from the current brackets.

ISS Designs Shelving Hardware System for 3 Rows of 12-Inch Deep Shelves, 48-Inch Vertical Simple Standards

CindyR "I would keep it until you completely de-clutter and move out the TV. After that, please post pictures."

Very good advice and I will post pictures once the ball is in motion, but I'm only in the planning stages at the moment. I'm a great visualizer, so much planning happens in my head and in a 2-D layout beforehand. I looking for some direction from all of you about whether or not this is a good look to keep for a MCM aesthetic. Personally I'm torn about the mirrors and shelves; I kind of like them, and I kind of dislike them. For what it's worth, I have blown glass I could display and I could add other pieces of decor to create a pleasing wall of pretties. Or it could all go away, and I could do as Patricia suggested and put up a large piece of art.

Ah, one thing I should mention is that we are having replacement windows installed in late September. They will be dark bronze on both the interior and exterior, with oak trim like we currently have in the house. (Decisions were made to cut costs and this brought us from $60K to $30K for the new windows.) We actually have two windows in our sunroom that are like this already as the side showing in the sunroom is the exterior side - interior side is towards the hallway to the master bedroom. I think it'll add a modern look, so I'm okay with this decision.

(pics from realty listing with the old peoples' furniture, and I do mean old, like in their 90's)

Considering the new windows and the dark bronze, the white brackets by ISS Designs (linked above) may need to be painted black or bronze.

Drapery will be updated this fall in the front room, dining room, and master bedroom. I have a post about that here, but it hasn't gotten much traction. I have a request out to Budget Blinds for a consultation.

BeverlyFLADeziner, thank you for your Photoshop magic.

"I have removed one section to focus that attention on the center section. The issue is not the mirror, but the standards and brackets. They are the issue. And I don't see how simply replacing them makes this better."

What about the ISS Designs style? Would they upscale it enough?

"This could be a good place to mix a cocktail."

Totally! It would give such a great mid-century vibe. Aesthetically I love the idea, but we have a lovely bar in the kitchen with an island across from it, and quite frankly, cocktail mixing can get quite messy.

I could display a decanter with serving tray, and cocktail glasses and not really pour drinks in there. Just tease people with the idea. LOL

Those are great ideas, Cindy. :)

It reminds me of our first home that we bought in 1982 brand new. It had a small wet bar in the living room. With glass shelves and a mirrored wall. I'd take it all down.

Remove the mirrors, glass shelves and the divider wall in between. Seems like the divider wall is only serving as a end peice for the shelves. This way you'll have a nice large wall to use for furniture placement, art, etc. I see this shelving has no logical or aesthetic purpose.

I would hire a decorator for advice before doing anything. Then clear the room. Does the mirror need to reflect the light in the room? I agree that the shelves and nick-knacs (?) are way to much for a room that is so bare otherwise. I definitely would remove the shelves. Make a plan and start with the most basic of changes. It will save you time and money in the long run.

My thought was that the room may suddenly seem very dark without that reflected light from the mirrors. We have a north-facing bathroom with a skylight and a window that looks out onto a covered porch, and it has a garden tub with two huge mirrors (like 4x5 feet) on the corner walls. Hate the mirrors but it occurs to me that if I take them out I will lose a lot of light in that room. It's very dark in there in the winter especially.

Not sure what to say about the shelves and brackets other than what you choose to put ON those shelves will help to define your MCM decor.

The room has two windows that we can see in the photos. One being very large. I can't see why the removal of the mirror would make the room dark. Besides, the type of mirrored wall shown in this room is very passe. I'd remove it.

Why not show the room as it currently looks? It's not very useful to see it with the old people's furnishings.

groveraxle, you're so right, and I was home from work yesterday and I took pictures. I blasted all of our lights as bright as they go and here we are! Our furnishings are a hodgepodge of two households being combined, and sadly some prime things were lost in the wars. None of it was purchased for this house.

debc25

It reminds me of our first home that we bought in 1982 brand new. It had a small wet bar in the living room. With glass shelves and a mirrored wall. I'd take it all down.

OMG, yes! The other living room did have a small wet bar that the previous owners removed. Your vote to remove the mirrors is noted. :)

judygilpin

Remove the mirrors, glass shelves and the divider wall in between. Seems like the divider wall is only serving as a end peice for the shelves. This way you'll have a nice large wall to use for furniture placement, art, etc. I see this shelving has no logical or aesthetic purpose.

I think you're right that the divider is just serving as an end piece. I'm leaning towards removing it and the mirrors and shelving.

hsmeghan

Not sure what to say about the shelves and brackets other than what you choose to put ON those shelves will help to define your MCM decor.

Good point!

Thanks for the current photos, Cheryl. They help a lot. This house looks like it has great bones and should lend itself well to MCM design. I remember those windows from a previous post and thought at the time they might require some thinking outside the box.

It looks like the old people updated the kitchen and made it quite beautiful, but not MCM. And the barn doors...they must have been into trends.

In any case, my best advice here is before you tear out the mirror and shelves, decide how you will use and furnish the room. I would come up with a furniture arrangement first, then see if the mirrored wall works into the scheme.

We're the ones who didn't follow the MCM design for the kitchen. My partner was a bit difficult to get onboard with that. At the time I was aiming for modern to fit the house style, and although he thought he was a fan of modern, he actually wasn't. It took months before I realized this and could find anything he'd go along with. We're also the guilty party for the barn door. We needed to be able to close this room off - we had extra house guests at the time, and this was the solution.

In any case, my best advice here is before you tear out the mirror and shelves, decide how you will use and furnish the room. I would come up with a furniture arrangement first, then see if the mirrored wall works into the scheme.

Yes, it's probably best to decide how we're going to use this space in the future, and pick the furniture out before removing the mirrors and shelves. That's what this exploration is all about; as I am working through these things it brought about this post. I really wasn't sure if those mirrors and glass shelves were an element I should keep as I move towards MCM.

I was leaning towards removing the TV from this room, but now I'm reconsidering. It's a fairly easy layout compared to our living room. Right now I'm wondering if I should get a sectional for the front room and keep the TV. Removing the TV was a way of moving the game system and lightening the wear and tear on the furniture in this room.

Our needs are rapidly changing. We have one kid entering college this fall, one halfway through high school, and one in 8th grade. We have three game systems, one in the front room, and two in the living room. We are considering building a media room in the basement, but I wonder if we'll get it done before all three kids are out, or nearly out, of the house.

The difficult living room: it's presently in "summer mode" with the couch backed up to the fireplace so we can sit facing the TV. In the winter the couch goes where the love seat is presently, and the love seat is opposite the couch. Dimensions: the alcove where the TV sets is 11.5' and it's 14.75' from that wall to the hearth and it's approximately 12' wide from the patio doors to the walkway.

And yes, those are cat highways, and yes, the sign above the doorway is crooked due to the cat chewing on the raffia. And we seriously need to recover the climbing post! So no matter what furniture and decor I add to this house, those elements will continue to be a factor. Well, I may be able to get rid of the sign. ;)

I would swap the placement of the chairs in the mirror room. Put the gold one near the doors and the green one on the other side of the sofa.

I can swap the two chairs - I actually just switched them.

What a great house! Be very careful of the scale of furniture. Use big art and do not clutter with knick-knacks. Let the architecture shine through. Mirrors can be tacky, use caution.

I like it! if you wanted to tone it down you could eliminate the section without the cabinet, but I think it reflects light and adds depth.

Thanks for explaining the cat accoutrements. I would never have guessed.

As others have mentioned, the weak link in the mirror and shelves are the brackets and standards. Also, because mirrored shelves double everything, they can tend to look cluttered.

Since you do have a nice collection of glass that deserves to be displayed, maybe keep your eye out for an MCM shelving system that could accommodate the glass and the TV.

Danish Royal System Free-Standing Modular Wall Unit | Etsy · More Info

Oh, my. I like that shelving system, groveraxle!

For what it's worth...the most important thing to consider even before how you want to style the room is the function. Function always comes before style. Once you decide function that will determine furniture placement. Then and only then do you pick style. If the mirrored walls impede function then they need to go. IMO get rid of them because (based on what you said) they do. Also the divider wall is in the way. If you remove all this then you'd have a great wall for your TV, some MCM built-ins or freestanding system and MCM art pieces. Either way fine. Then you could place your furniture in a cozy grouping in front of this element. This would make your room look larger. Also choosing a white paint (there are many "colors" of white) wall color will brighten, lighten, and enlarge the room and do a lot more for the room than the mirrors. The furniture and art pieces you choose will do the job of giving you the MCM look your going for! If you still want a mirror in the room get a MCM hanging wall mirror and put it on an opposite wall say above the furniture piece you have now in front of the mirrored wall.

P.S. Just realized that furniture piece I spoke about is not yours...Lol! But you get the idea. Some more streamlined less bulky furniture would fit the MCM look your going for as well :)

Check out Scandinavian furniture it gives a minimalist modern MCM look too!

I've been planning on checking out Century House.

They have nice furniture But pretty high priced. If you Google "century furniture" you will see other places with more moderate prices that have Nice MCM furniture too :)