Can you imagine life without mirrors? How many times a day do you stop to check your hair, or glance at your reflection to make sure your tie is straight? Most people can hardly imagine getting dressed without a full length mirror, but such a luxury was once too expensive for many people to afford.

Today, mirrors are usually a piece of glass with a metal coating, such as aluminum or silver. The coating produces the reflection that allows users to see themselves. The earliest mirrors, however, were just highly polished, slightly contoured pieces of bronze, tin or silver. They were brought to such a high sheen through polishing that light would reflect off of them, and allow a reflection to be seen.

There were mirrors as early as ancient Greece and Rome. The earliest mirrors were hand held. Full length mirrors did not appear until sometime around the 1st century. When the Celts saw mirrors being used by the Romans and Greeks, they quickly adopted their use. Soon, hand held mirrors were commonplace throughout Europe, and by the mid-1600’s, mirror making was a common skill practiced in London and Paris.

While many people could afford smaller mirrors, full length mirrors and large decorative wall mirrors were very expensive. To have many large mirrors in a home was a show of great wealth. In fact, palaces throughout Europe used mirrors in many royal rooms as decoration.

Decorative mirrors were framed in elaborately carved frames, but by the end of the 18th century it was more popular to have painted frames, rather than carved ones. Around this same time, French mirror makers started making circular mirrors adorned with heavy gilt frames.

By the 19th century, the cost of producing decorative mirrors had dropped dramatically and mirrors were accessible to many more people. It was at that time, because of the reduction in the cost, that mirrors began to show up as decorative accents in pieces of furniture. Visit an antique store and you’re sure to see dining room sideboards and bedroom wardrobes adorned with mirrors.

It’s not likely that there will ever come a time when mirrors are not necessary. They are still needed for vanity sake, and are still hugely popular as decorations. It’s easy to see why mirrors are so widely used as decorative items. Decorative mirrors bring light to any room and help small rooms appear larger. They add a touch of elegance to most any room and look great flanked by hanging candle holders or metal wall hangings . Because most are neutral in color (unless they are surrounded by a colorfully painted frame) they blend seamlessly with any décor and don’t compete with other pieces of art. Also, the more you have in your home, the less likely you are to walk around with a crooked tie!