When round mirrors or any shaped decorative mirrors are selected, the sink/faucet is usually directly below.

With a 48" vanity and a 48" framed mirror I think it would look odd to have the right side of the frame right up against the tall cabinet. If you want a full length mirror just do a slab of frameless mirror and mount a light above in the middle. That light also doesn't look long enough if youre going to do 48" of mirror. Personally, I think a round mirror over the sink would be just fine with perhaps some sconces on either side.

Thank you both for your ideas! This is our current bathroom - the layout is staying pretty much the same. I'm really hoping to add a framed mirror because I've had a flat mirror for 20 years and I'm tired of the look! I would love a round mirror but what size could I consider for this set up? We are also having our electrician come in to move an outlet, so adding sconces could be a possibility, but after countless hours on Houzz, I really don't think it's a viable option in our case.

This is an example that I found of a mirror very close to a cabinet. I think our measurements could work a bit like this - there will be an overhang on both sides of the counter which I'm hoping will give a bit more width to work with?

Thank you, Beverly, but the photo of our current bathroom is just to show what I've been living with for 20 years! I agree, the current mirror is terrible! I am so over the banjo cabinet look so that is going out for sure! We have already purchased our quartz for the counter.

Where the current shelving unit is we are going to remove that completely, along with the wall. We are replacing those open shelves with a cabinet with doors. As a result, we will not have a wall to recess a medicine cabinet into.

I will consider hanging the shower curtain higher.

As an aside, I would consider painting the room a more interesting color since it's a bathroom for two girls. You're going to have a nice, neutral background, so almost any color would work. If you're going to have glass doors on the tub your choices are wide open, or look for a shower curtain they both like and choose a wall color from a color in the curtain. Although if it's impossible to get them to agree on anything maybe Moonshine is the best choice. :-)

BM Bright & Early 834

BM Woodland White 463 (is greener than the sample appears)

Healing Aloe 1562 is another option. I don't have a dollop of that saved. It's a greenish gray. Or Paper White which is a light gray with some blue. I used the two shown in bathrooms in my house. I cut both of them in half which you can always do if they're too dark for you straight. If they're girly girls yellow or pink would also be options. When they leave home you can always go back to something more neutral. Or use Moonlight with colored towels. I love a neutral background because you can do so much with it.

Thank you, kandrewspa! It was my 18 year old who picked out Moonshine! She’s living at home while going to university so I want to make it a space that she really likes. I love colour (our powder room is painted Hale navy), and we have lots of greens, turquoise, navy and sea glass colours running throughout our home. I’d like to stay with those tones, so either navy or aqua towels. We are staying with a shower curtain so I will definitely add visual interest and colour in the curtain!

Something like this-

What if you do something like this? You get balance without symmetry. Hang your round or oval mirror on the left, do something on the right - an inset like this perhaps - and you get your look. https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-traditional-bathroom-boston-phvw-vp~53747794

Also is there a reason you don't get a vanity with the sink centered? As important as this feels to you, it might be worth moving the plumbing a little bit.

Thank you, Jenny for your idea! That is very interesting but since the mirror is on an outside wall, we wouldn't want to out a recessed cabinet into it.

We talked over the possibility of switching to a vanity with a centred sink with our contractor, and decided to keep the offset sink. This bathroom reno is an add-on to our ensuite reno so we are looking at doing a really nice job but keeping it within a budget. Switching out the mirror and adding a new light fixture, along with a new vanity and cabinet is going to be a huge transformation in our builder-grade home. We are actually going with IKEA cabinetry and I already purchased a (non-refundable) piece of quartz for the counter, There's no going back (in terms of design) now!

I'm all about doing more with less. If you are happy with the feeling of balance with the mirror on the left and something else on the right, you can select your mirror now and then figure out the something on the right that your contractor isn't needed for. Off the cuff: a tall freestanding makeup mirror, an orchid or hanging plant, art. Or have your contractor put in two shelves to the right of the mirror, deep enough to hold containers of cotton balls, etc and free up the counter.

That is a good idea! What size of round mirror is the largest that could work? Would I be limited to centring it over the 24” sink cabinet? If so, then the mirror might be smaller than I would like.

I like your idea of a large round mirror, though I would choose two long sconces. An overhead mirror produces unflattering shadows on your face. The left sconce would be centered over the toilet. I like Jenny’s idea of shelves to the right to keep the countertop clear. Since there is so little space left with a large mirror, you could mount quarter-round shelving in the corner.

Eek! ffpalms! Do you really think I could have a sconce over the toilet? Would that open up the possibility of a 36" round mirror? I've been really hoping for side sconces! This is one style I've had my eye on:

I have also been thinking of having wooden shelves to tie the flooring in (LVP in woodgrain with greys and browns). I'll look into these corner shelves for sure!

This is a 30” mirror - not a great photo, but is this a good size, or should I go larger?

That mirror looks small to me. Let's see what the pros say, but I think you could approach 36 but not bigger.

Just center the sink. Then get a 36 inch diameter mirror, and center over the sink and faucet. Give the 18 yr old a vanity/make up table in her bedroom, and we'll all assume the eight year old needs no make up as yet.

By the time she does? The 18 year old will probably live out of state and have a life all her own, caring not what she has when she visits.

I would do the entire bath based on that. No hand wringing : ) necessary

I've done HUNDREDS ?? of baths. Not one has an off centered sink. Just a royal pain and that is what the drawers are for. No clutter of teen junk on top.

Draw the as is floor plan of the bath, before you gut, include all the feet and inches. Of everything .

I won't ask as to gray and brown with an 8 yr old and so many pretty colors in the world......: )

You’re absolutely right, Jan. Trying to accommodate this offset so I had been the hardest aspect of both of my bathroom Reno’s (that will be happening at the same time!) I should have stood my ground earlier, but both my husband and GC convinced me that the plumbing would be too hard to move so “just stay with an offset sink”. As a result, I’ve already paid over $800’for the quartz counter, will be getting IKEA bases, and will have a three week wait period while waiting for the counter to be templated and cut/installed. However, I can return the counter now so I’m in this for the long haul. Now I’m just trying to make the best of this situation. On the upside, we are also installing IKEA storage cabinets so it will all be the same cabinetry, which I’m really excited about!

I don’t think 36” will work, unless we go with overhead lighting, and even then it won’t be centre with the sink. Could 32” possibly be better?

Sorry - I meant to say, I can’t return the counter…

Mirror the ENTIRE wall above the vanity, give it a two inch trim molding all FOUR sides. It's a completely different effect than a crappy tacked up hunk of builder mirror /no trim.

Should have held your ground. Not a man on earth who won't take the path of least resistance 99% of the time.

Use a trim that "mirrors" the cabinet style, and CENTER the lighting and move it up. Or get three singles - one over sink and space the other two, attractively.

This is why I don't do off center. Just not great : )

Show the WHOLE as is and planned. Feet and inches. Dare........

Ps...... no contractor is ever your designer. Ever,

So, I'm thinking that I'm back to the original plan of getting a 48" rectangular mirror. The counter will be slightly larger with the overhang so the mirror will fit. I'll hang a couple of wooden floating shelves left of the mirror, over the toilet to balance it. Honestly, anything is going to look fabulous compared to what I have now!

Jan - there really isn't a lot to share in terms of planning. It'a a basic bathroom with a shower/tub combo, a toilet, the vanity, and then a corner cabinet, all on one wall. Since this is an "add on" bathroom reno, we're trying to keep it within moderation, also acknowledging that our home is a modest, 1864 sq ft, two story. But it's home, and I want it to look the best that I can :)

Awe, thanks so much, Kendrah! At the end of the day, I do think the rounded edges are a nice compromise. I just came across this one that is 40” wide by 32” high - would that be a better size for a 48” vanity? I wonder if that would give me enough wiggle room for two sconces (still hung over the vanity?)

I took a few minutes to draw out some different scenarios, as close to scale as possible (each square = 6”).

Which scenario works the best?

Or is there another scenario that I haven’t thought of?

Jan's ideas about men and marriage are really disgusting.

I was trying to ignore because my husband is my rock and I support him 100%.

I am so curious as to WHEN everyone lost all sense of humor? When a nation became so ridiculously prickly......that a common joke ,

( a bonding of male contractor, and a man in the house? I am laughingly familiar with the scenario! - also with the eye roll and his lovely Mrs- "Uhhhh no, were not doing that"! ) has to be second guessed or a mal intent implied.

Maybe everyone needs a nice long nap, just my TWO cents.

Hi! I'm Justine,

I am an interior designer and founder of Rainbow Shaker, a colourful and playful interior design studio.

I hope I am not arriving too late in the discussion...^^

I personally also love using round mirrors in bathroom, in particular, when you need to contrast with straight, clean cuts.

If you're worried about the symmetry, what if you installed a 'mirror wall' (see photo) with round mirrors of different sizes?

I hope I've been able to help you :)

Have a good day!

Hi Justine! Nope! Not too late at all! That’s a very cool idea! For me, with the large mirror, it’s the idea of looking straight into the edge of the mirror that I think would be bothersome. Even with a series of mirrors we would still be faced with that - maybe we’d get used to it? I realize now that when I drew the square and rectangular frames I made them very angular. I would definitely get the rounded corners to soften the look.

But wait! If we did something like this series of mirrors we could go with a smaller mirror and have it centred over the sink - sorry, it’s early and I haven’t had my coffee yet! Hmmm… something to think about for sure!

Jan - I really wasn’t that offended by your comment! I get it! My husband is always the practical one and he keeps me in balance! But sometimes that does drive me crazy! My GC is the nicest guy around so I don’t want to get him ticked off with me before we even begin the reno! (Starting Oct. 21)

I think you need to go for practicality here. I would find it highly irritating to be standing in front of the sink and not see all of my face in a mirror and have to step to the right to get the full view. I suspect that the large mirror is reminding you too much of the current mirror you have, which you hate. BUT, it is a different mirror and everything about the bathroom is going to look and feel different.

Do you have other bathrooms in your house where there is a full view of your face when you stand in front of the mirror? If so, take some paper, tape it over that mirror so the center of it is open and forms a circle. Now use it for a few days and see what it feels like to stand at the sink and not really be able to see all of you in a mirror.

Thanks again, Kendrah! My gut is absolutely telling me that a round mirror just won’t work, so I agree with you and will be practical about this! It’s crazy but this bathroom reno started with simply asking our bathroom guy if he could replace the tub and tile in this bathroom while he is renovating our ensuite. It quickly turned into a full blown reno that we weren’t really thinking we were going to do. But, it just makes so much sense to have them done at the same time!

So moving on, my next thoughts are, do we go with a full rectangular mirror (40x30 or 48x36?) with a vanity light overhead, or would it be possible to add 4.5” wide sconces with a 40 x 30 mirror? I would really love to make sconces work if possible!

I'm not a Pro, but I do not like the round mirror over the sink. I'm starting with a bathroom remodel (haven't decided on my mirror/mirrors yet) and one of my major concerns is having my face cut off by a frame. I also have a builder contractor full frameless mirror over my double sink. I do love the fact that everywhere I turn I can see myself as I'm styling my hair. I would imagine your older girl would want a full view of outfits/makeup/hair. Sometimes looking at things from a designer prospective verses a homeowner is quite different. In the end your family needs to enjoy using the bathroom for their needs.

Thanks for this great reminder, Nancy! I need to keep this all in perspective for sure! However, I am dropping a whack of money into these projects so I do need to make sure we’re happy with the end result!

If you go with a 40" mirror over a 48" vanity you only have 4" on each side of the mirror. I think that isn't going to be enough. They will be crammed against a corner wall and running in to the edge of the mirror. I think a scrunched up look is going to make the bathroom feel much smaller and tighter than it is. I think the lighting and mirror you originally posted look pretty great. But, maybe there is a different above mirror light that you would enjoy more?

And yes, I'm super familiar with the renovation experience of feeling like you picked at a yarn and unraveled an entire sweater. At least you will have a pretty room to look at when you are done. When I get into these situations it is often inside the walls work that you can't even show off when your friends come over!

Hi Kendrah! Thanks again for your encouragement! With all of your help, and everyone else on this thread, I've finally come to realize that I think I just need to stick with my original plan. I do really like the overhead vanity light and I think I'll go with a 40" x 30" mirror, black metal frame with rounded edges (unless I can find a 40 X 36"). One detail I did notice is that I need to make sure there is room on the bottom right side of the mirror for an electrical outlet. It's currently on the side wall, but that wall will be taken out so the outlet will need to move. A 48" wide mirror would make that impossible. I feel that anything smaller than a 40" will take me back to emphasizing the off-set sink and back to the conundrum of how to make it all all cohesive.

With the headache saved in installing sconces, I think I'll try to push for a couple of recessed lights in the bathroom (currently the only lighting is the vanity lighting).

One thing I find interesting is that so many sites talk about 44" being a perfect width mirror for a 48" vanity. I cannot for the life of me find a 44" wide mirror! Am I missing something???

For the vanity light, I could go with a 36" (4 light) or 26" (3 light), I'm thinking the 36" so that it can be over the sink but still span most of the mirror?

This photo appeared in today’s Latest Stories. You may want to consider an arched mirror.

Thanks ffpalms! I’m actually putting in a large arched mirror into my ensuite (gold frame). I do love the ached mirror!

Couldn't find a round mirror I liked, so I built one I did: