apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I wonder if a translucent film might look cool. It'll give them a frosted glass look and obscure what's reflected in them. you could go to the hardware store and buy a roll of cheap-o translucent contact paper to test it out before spending the money on the good stuff. Also, there are those vinyl wall appliques that might look cool on the mirror as well.

This question has been answered before -- check the archives.

Yeah, I'd contact paper em. You could do the expensive ones AT just posted yesterdayish or go to designyourwall.com.
=)

I have the same problem except i'm in a rental and can't do anything permanent....

Redbeard, I was thinking the same thing. There were some great window films listed the other day. There are options with more and less opacity, depending your preference. I think that I would choose something with medium opacity and a pattern that let some of the glass reflect color and light.

http://www.decorativefilm.com/index.html
http://www.designpublic.com/shop/emma-jeffs

I read that the Emma Jeffs brand got poor marks for being hard to remove.

Contact paper (Or cling film) can do wonders!

Frosted Privacy Window: WindowFilmWorld.com
Various Window Film GlassDecorandMore.com

The frosted film seems to be a great idea, you can cut them into thick stripes, do a solid door, or cut them into squares, there are really so many possibilities. (Looking at your room, some large squares would look nice)

What we did, when we found ourselves with an apartment with not only those, but a HUGE mirrored *wall* in the living room, was mix dish soap with latex paint and paint over them. Time came to move and we simply washed it off. (Old grade-school trick.)

Instead of contact paper, I'd use fabric. Dunk in liquid starch, squeegee on. let dry.

I would suggest some great wall decal and spray can frost, find a decal you love, repeat it on each door

Take down the doors and hang tailored drapes inside the closet -- match the existing ones, if you're planning on keeping them.

Or, paper them, right over the mirrors -- use fabric panels, or textured wallpaper, or wall decals or a combination. With such a big expanse, it might be cool to have a big graphic image traversing the length of the wall of doors.

oooh, this one would work with the geometric thing you've got going with the spread.

http://www.glassdecorandmore.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=26statswisssq

You can try creating a design with molding. Or even use curtains to create a look of depth behind the mirror. Check out pics here: http://lovinglivingsmall.blogspot.com/2008/04/mirrored-closet-doors-twist.html

What about a curtain to cover the wall. IKEA has some really cheep options and it would soften the wall up. Make it feel warm. You could mount them on the outside, or even take off the doors and mount them on the inside.
Maybe like this: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_bedroom/article/0,,HGTV_3366_5206793_08,00.html

Or this: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/good-questions/good-question-closet-curtains-014930

Mirrors in the bedroom are sexy. Do not cover them!!!

I would decoupage them with fabric or wallpaper them with a natural seagrass.

Candice Olsen did a really cool treatment with mirrored closet doors in a bedroom. She states
"I then got to work on the 1980s-style mirrored closet doors. Rather than ripping them out, I removed the brass valance and replaced it with wood, removed the brass trim and painted it silver and installed a privacy film in horizontal stripes for a sultry look."

It's not pictured on the website but it is in her book. Go to B&N or Borders and look at the Graciously Grown Up bedroom.

I was just saying to my boyfriend the other day how fun it would be if we had mirrors across from our bed. :-)

floor to ceiling drapes, as said up top, after removing the doors entirely. I always remove my doors as they actually hog all the room of actually accessing your closet.

A reader emailed us to say:

I have the same thing in my bedroom and I put a curtain in front of it.
I think it makes it look pretty and won't cost too much too! :)

--
Cheers ^.^,
Shelvia

Ikea has a translucent silver fabric which looks very cool when used as long drapes over a mirror.

I have replaced yucky sliding closet doors in my home with curtains. They add texture and pattern and I can see my whole closet when they are open, you can't do that with sliding doors! Obviously with the length of your doors you would need several panels.

mirrors are ok, what really sucks is that nasty comforter.

1980s vintage, heh.

I personally like mirrored closet doors. Maybe it's because I've always lived in small spaces as an adult. Maybe if you changed the decor to something more sophisticated or cozy, the reflection would be nicer. Of course mirrors are good in the bedroom for some uh...introspection with your partner.

I love these mirrored doors. I mean for all you that like the small spaces mirrors do a good job of opening that small space up, if only as an illusion, and making it look big. And really, half the eye candy posted up here on this site are big, roomy spaces - heck even the bathrooms posted here are usually big (a library in the bathroom ...?...) I could care less if my muted, gold-tone trimmed mirrored closet doors are not perfectly in style because what they make lack there is more than made up for in the sense/illusion of space the provide me when I'm in the room.

Ikea also has a plastic film that gives the illusion of frosted glass. It adheres to the mirror with soapy water and comes off with no residue. It's better than spray frost if you are a renter.

Place either plexi or wood veneer over the mirrors.

wall paper them or put up curtains. the possiblilties are endless.

Bridget212323,

There is matte vinyl sheet that is meant to be applied to ground floor windows. It doesn't stick on permanently but, either static or like the vinyl stickers that kids used to have to play inside the car.

It is used n europe for ground floor apartments to get a clean look while preventing everyone from staring inside. It is easy to remove as well. There is also patterned arty stuff, but that is way more expensive.

definitely frosted contact paper.

I grew up with mirrored closet doors in my bedroom. In fact my parents still have them today. It may sound weird, but after living with them, you will not notice yourself in the mirrors except when you want to. It's as though you turn your own reflection on and off. Today, I'm not in love with mirrored doors, however the purpose they fulfill in creating the illusion of greater space and reflecting light is very important. I would definitely think twice before obliterating them beneath various opaque coverings and live with them for a while before making changes.

If you decide you still hate them, consider making changes incrementally. One idea you might consider is hanging moderately sized artwork on sliding rods in front of the doors, this distracts the eye from your reflection. Another is treating the mirrored doors like a second window wall and framing them with curtain panels. But before plastering various opaque coverings on them or removing them completely, I would simulate the absence of the doors by draping plain white sheets over them for several days and noting the effects on the room. You may find that the doors are indespensible in making the room feel larger than it is.

Boomer, that's gorgeous work! I'll definately be using your ingenious trick in the future!

One thing you could do is put sheers over them, so you still have the feeling of light and space, but not the relentless full-on double image. I kind of liked when I had a whole wall of mirrors in my old apartment. Well, that space was VERY tiny, so it really helped.

I would put a wall of curtains in front of them. But if you have more patience than me, I say follow boomer's lead. That actually looks awesome.

recently on hgtv, I saw someone deal with this by covering each door with a painted piece of thin plywood that had a cutout the approximate shape of a regular full-length mirror in the middle of each piece of plywood (which then showed through once the rest of the mirror was covered. It looked pretty cool and keeps the convenience of actual closet doors (if you find them convenient - I do).

If you want easy - check the back of the doors. Oftentimes it is white or a woven fabric. On rentals I've often carefully removed them and then turned them around so the mirrors faced inwards and the woven white was on the outside. Looks sort of shoji screen-like.

Also depending upon the height, you may be able to replace them with shoji screens if you can find them tall enough. Attach them together and attach wheels to the bottom (found in the screen door parts area of a good hardware store).

Hi, you HAVE to take a look at these--

http://www.etsy.com/your_shop.php

any of the wall decals there would look great on your mirrors, check them out, they are very cheap..

they are called Shanickers =)