The shape is doing more work than people realise. Most rooms are made entirely of straight lines, and an oval is the simplest way to interrupt them.

Doorframes, windows, skirting, furniture edges, picture frames. A room is a grid, and a curve set into it draws the eye immediately without needing to be large or loud. That is the whole principle behind the Aldor's softly curved silhouette, and it is why an oval mirror lifts a wall that a rectangular one merely fills.

The frame is where the texture comes from. A smooth MDF profile finished to highlight a natural stone effect, gently weathered rather than uniform, so the surface has variation and depth instead of reading as a flat painted edge. It is the detail that gives an otherwise minimal piece something to look at up close.

The tone is deliberately neutral, which is what makes it work in both light and dark schemes. Against a chalk white wall it reads as soft texture. Against a deep olive or charcoal it reads as a pale outline. Very few mirrors genuinely do both.

And the practical bit, which is the real reason to hang a mirror at all. It reflects light and visually expands a room, which matters most in exactly the places people tend to have least of both. Entryways, landings and small bathrooms.

• Soft oval silhouette that breaks up the straight lines every room is built from
• Weathered stone-effect finish with genuine texture rather than a flat painted edge
• Neutral tone that works against both pale and dark walls
• 80 by 60cm, generous enough to matter and modest enough for a small wall
• Bounces light into entryways, landings and rooms that do not have much
• 7.2kg, light enough to hang without specialist fixings on a sound wall
• Suits four rooms, from a hallway to a bedroom to a living space
• Quietly versatile, sitting equally in Scandinavian, minimalist, rustic and coastal schemes

Above a console or a chest. Hang it so the bottom edge sits 20cm to 25cm above the surface, and centre it on the furniture rather than on the wall. The two should read as one arrangement.

On its own on a wall. Centre the mirror at around 155cm to 160cm from the floor, which puts the middle at eye level for most people.

In a bathroom. Centre it on the basin, not the wall, with the bottom edge roughly 20cm above the taps. At 60cm wide it suits a standard basin without crowding it.

Fixing it. At 7.2kg this needs a proper fixing rather than a single picture pin. Into masonry use a wall plug and screw. On plasterboard use a rated anchor or fix into a stud. Check what hanging hardware is supplied before you buy fixings.

The most overlooked rule in hanging a mirror. Stand where you will normally stand and check what appears in it. A window, a lamp or a piece of art is worth doubling. A blank wall or a doorway to a cluttered utility room is not.

The classic pairing, and the reason mirrors sell. A console table below, a lamp at one end, something with height at the other, and the mirror centred on the furniture.

A pair of wall lights either side of a mirror lights a face from both sides rather than from above, which is far more flattering and genuinely more useful. It is the single best lighting arrangement in a hallway or a bathroom.

A weathered stone tone sits naturally against off white, oatmeal, chalk and warm plaster. Against a deep olive, charcoal or inky blue the pale frame reads as a strong outline, which is where the oval shape shows best.

An oval mirror above a round-edged console, beside a rounded vessel, over a curved-back chair. Repeating a shape once or twice in a room is what makes it look designed rather than assembled.

MDF frame with a stone-effect finish. Worth being straightforward about, because it matters in both directions. This is engineered board with an applied decorative finish, not carved stone or solid timber. That is what keeps the piece at 7.2kg rather than the 20kg a genuine stone frame would weigh, and it is why it hangs on an ordinary wall with ordinary fixings.

MDF also holds a smooth, consistent profile that natural material would not, which is what allows the clean oval curve. A solid timber frame this shape would need joining and would move with the seasons.

Glass mirror. Standard mirror glass, set within the frame.

The trade is durability against damp. MDF is not a material that tolerates persistent moisture, which is the one thing worth knowing before you hang it in a bathroom. See the care section below.

The glass. Spray glass cleaner onto a soft cloth rather than onto the mirror, so nothing runs down into the frame. This matters more here than on a timber frame, since moisture wicking into the edge of MDF is what causes swelling over time.

The frame. A dry soft cloth. Avoid cleaning sprays and anything abrasive, which will lift a decorative finish.

Bathrooms, carefully. The Aldor suits a well-ventilated bathroom, and it is a beautiful thing above a basin. In a small room with no extractor and a daily hot shower, we would think twice. MDF does not enjoy persistent steam, and the edges are where it shows first. If it is going in a bathroom, run the fan.

Check the fixings. Worth a look once a year, and after any house move.

Interior use only, and out of prolonged direct sunlight, which will lighten a decorative finish over years.

Your mirror is checked and carefully packed before it leaves us, since glass needs protecting in transit. Delivery details are on our delivery page.

If it is not right once it is on the wall, our returns process is straightforward, and everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

0% interest-free finance is available at checkout, and our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere.

Not sure whether 80 by 60cm suits your wall? Send us the measurements via our contact page or live chat. Fitting out a hotel or a holiday let? Ask about trade accounts.