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Your bathroom mirror should be:
- 2-4 inches narrower than the vanity countertop
- 4 inches wider than the sink bowl (2 inches on either side)
- 30-36 inches tall
- Eye-level with the person using it most, or 60 inches from the floor to the center of the mirror
- 2-5 inches above the top of your faucet
- 3-5 inches from the light fixture
- 4 inches from any side sconces
Down with the builder-grade mirror, it’s time to get a vanity mirror that you love! But should your bathroom mirror be the same width as your vanity?
Utilize this post as a complete size guide for your bathroom vanity mirror! The mirror width when compared to the vanity is just part of the equation. There’s also the height of the vanity mirror and how the mirror interacts with its surroundings, such as the light fixture and your faucet.
I’ll be covering it all. Let’s dive right into getting your mirror hung perfectly!
Should Your Bathroom Mirror Be the Same Width as Your Vanity?
Definitely not! Your mirror should be at least 4 inches narrower than the countertop of your bathroom vanity (2 inches on each side). This includes the mirror frame or pivot grommets, if applicable. Following this rule of thumb will keep your mirror and vanity proportionate to each other!
This guideline will also ensure that your mirror is not overpowering your vanity.
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For example…
This is the mirror in one of my half baths. The vanity is 30” wide (the countertop is 31” wide) and the mirror is 27” including the pivot grommets. This equals out to the mirror being exactly 4” narrower than the widest part of the vanity. The mirror itself is 23” wide.
Vanity mirror | Vanity light ideas | Faucet | Wallpaper
While updating this bathroom, I was on the hunt for the perfect mirror. I had seen this pivot-styled mirror all over Pinterest and knew it was the one I wanted. I searched for hours to find one that fit our space and was the right color.
Once I had it in place, I fell in love with it. The mirror sticks off the wall a couple of inches which gives the small bathroom a bit of depth! 10 out of 10, would recommend this Amazon mirror!
RELATED POST: 17 Amazon Bathroom Vanity Mirrors You Will Obsess Over!
Should Bathroom Mirrors Be Wider Than the Sink Bowl?
YES! There are no exceptions to this answer! Bathroom mirrors should always be wider than the sink bowl by at least 4 inches (2 inches on each side).
Imagine a mirror narrower than your sink bowl. Chances are your shoulders probably won’t make it into the mirror! The average bathroom sink bowl width is 16-20 inches. Your mirror should never be narrower than that.
Best Mirror Width for Standard Vanity Widths
Here you’ll find a list of the standard widths for vanity cabinets and how wide a mirror should be for each. The standard vanity widths are 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, and 72 inches.
Remember, the below are simply just guidelines. If you are within an inch or so, that’s totally fine! And the best advice is to just go 2-4 inches narrower than your countertop width.
How wide should a mirror be over a 24-inch vanity?
With a 24-inch bathroom vanity, this is just about as small as they come. You will want to aim for a mirror that is 20-22 inches wide. And it’s important not to go any smaller than that in this scenario.
How wide should a mirror be over a 30-inch vanity?
For a vanity that is 30 inches wide, this is the most common size vanity. The ideal bathroom mirror would be 26-28 inches wide. This includes any pivot grommets or mirror frame.
How wide should a mirror be over a 36-inch vanity?
If you have a 36-inch vanity, this is where you officially start getting into the round and horizontal bathroom mirror category. The perfect mirror would be 32-34 inches wide.
I personally love the round mirror style for this size of vanity. Why? Because it’s going to be the same distance as the width as it is for the height, creating an elevated look to the space.
How wide should a mirror be over a 48-inch vanity?
When you’re dealing with a vanity that measures 48 inches wide, you’re definitely going to need to search for horizontal mirrors (mirrors that are wider than they are taller). Your bathroom mirror should be 44-46 inches wide.
It’s okay if your mirror is a little bit narrower than the suggested range here. 48-inch vanities can be difficult to find proportionate mirrors for. If you pair a smaller mirror with sconces or other decor on either side, it can make up for the blank space without looking awkward!
How wide should a mirror be over a 60-inch vanity?
For vanities that are 60 inches wide, you can start thinking about going with two separate mirrors vs one big mirror. This is because most 60-inch vanities are double bowl sinks.
For one big mirror, you’ll want to aim for a mirror that’s 56-58 inches wide.
For two mirrors, you’ll want to ensure that each mirror is at least 1-2 inches from the edge of the vanity. Measure from the center of the faucet to the edge of the vanity. Double that number and subtract 2 inches. That’s the maximum width mirror that you can have over each sink.
If there aren’t at least 2-4 inches in between both of your mirrors, you will want to consider using one big mirror over your double vanity.
Here is my 60-inch vanity that fits perfectly between two walls. My mirrors are 1 inch in from the wall on each side and are 24 inches wide each. They are separated by about 12 inches of space in between. This placement is what worked best for my space and vanity.
Vanity | Faucet | LED Mirror | Vanity light ideas
How wide should a mirror be over a 72-inch vanity?
If you have a 72-inch wide vanity, you will have the option of using two separate mirrors or going with one long mirror.
For one big mirror, you’ll want to go with a mirror that is 68-70 inches wide.
For two mirrors: just make sure both mirrors are at least 1-2 inches from the edge of the vanity. Get your measurement from the center of the faucet to the edge of the vanity. Double that and subtract 2 inches. This will be the maximum width mirror that you’ll be able to have over each sink.
This will give you the perfect width for each mirror over your 72-inch double vanity.
How High Should a Bathroom Mirror Be Hung Over Vanity?
A bathroom mirror should be hung at the eye level of the person who will be using it the most. With this in mind, you obviously don’t want to be hanging a mirror super high or super low, so there is a standard height you should keep in mind.
The ideal height for a bathroom mirror to be hung is 60 inches, measuring from the ground to the center of the mirror. Now when you follow all of the guidelines in this post, you may find that you need to deviate from this by an inch or so, and that’s totally fine!
Vanity mirror | Vanity light ideas | Faucet | Wallpaper | Brass knob ideas | Toilet lever | Paint (Warm Putty by Valspar)
My husband and I always use my eye level to hang anything because I’m 5’5”, which puts my eye level right at about 61 inches. So everything in our house is hung at this height lol. Looking for the perfect guide on how high to hang other things in your house? I have a post all about how high to hang pictures!
Should Mirrors Be Centered Over Bathroom Sinks?
Yes! Bathroom mirrors need to be centered over the sink. Luckily you can use the faucet, which should already be directly centered on your vanity to make this easy.
An off-centered mirror will look out of place! The only exception is if you have a sink bowl that is not centered on your vanity. Then your mirror should be centered on your vanity as opposed to the sink. But 9 times out of 10, you will want to center on the bathroom sink.
If you have a double vanity and are using a large mirror, definitely center your mirror on the vanity. If you have a double vanity and are using two separate mirrors, center each mirror over the respective sink!
Each time I’ve completed a bathroom reno, I have used the faucet as my center point to hang my mirrors!
How Much Space Should Be Between The Mirror and Faucet?
Your bathroom mirror should be 2-5 inches above the highest point of your faucet. This should sit you right in the range of 5-10 inches above the countertop.
- If you have a taller, gooseneck-styled faucet, you can aim for the lower end of that range at around 2 inches above the faucet.
- If you have a shorter faucet, you may want to hang towards the higher end of the range, closer to 5 inches.
Since I have a taller faucet, I hung my mirrors 2 inches from the top of my faucet.
How Tall Should a Bathroom Mirror Be?
The perfect bathroom mirror should be 30-36 inches tall. In most bathrooms, this will situate your mirror perfectly between the faucet and the light fixture.
Even in a bathroom with tall ceilings, a 36-inch tall mirror will be completely fine!
In this bathroom, my ceilings are 8 feet tall and my mirror is 35 inches tall. Tall mirrors in a bathroom, especially if you have 8-foot ceilings, will make the room feel even taller than it truly is. If you’re working in a small bathroom, this can be critical to making the space feel bigger.
Vanity mirror | Vanity light ideas | Faucet | Wallpaper | Brass knob ideas | Toilet lever | Paint (Warm Putty by Valspar)
How Much Space Should Be Between Bathroom Mirror and Ceiling?
It’s important to leave at least 5 inches of space between the top of your bathroom mirror and the ceiling. If your mirror were to extend all the way to the ceiling, this will make the mirror look too big and you always want some space around all edges of the mirror.
Spacing Around Bathroom Mirror
Earlier I discussed whether your bathroom mirror should be the same width as your vanity, but there are some extra spacing requirements surrounding a mirror you need to keep in mind.
Here are the minimum spacing requirements for hanging a bathroom mirror:
- At least 1” from any adjacent walls
- At least 2” from the top of the faucet
- At least 5” from the top of the ceiling
- At least 4” between sconces and mirror
- At least 3” between vanity light and mirror
Following these spacing requirements will help make your mirror look appropriate to the space you’re hanging it in. If the mirror is touching anything around it, this is not going to look good!
Should a Bathroom Mirror Touch the Vanity?
No! Your bathroom mirror should never touch any part of the vanity, whether it’s the top of the vanity or the vanity backsplash. If you’re wondering whether it’s okay if a mirror can graze up against a 3-inch vanity backsplash, for example, it shouldn’t! A mirror shouldn’t be touching anything around it.
How Far Away From Your Mirror Should Sconces Be?
If you’re hanging a mirror with sconces on each side, you should leave at least 4 inches of space between sconces and a mirror.
How Much Space Should Be Between Your Vanity Light and Mirror?
This is a super important one! The lowest part of the vanity light should be at least 3 inches above the top of a bathroom mirror.
Your light should never hang down in front of a mirror.
So for example, if you have a light fixture with big globes, the bottom of the globe should be at least 3 inches from the top of a mirror. But if the wall plate is lower than the lights, the bottom of the light plate should be at least 3 inches higher than a mirror.
You also don’t want a ton of space between your mirror and light fixture. The bottom of your light fixture shouldn’t be more than 5 inches higher than your mirror. This will keep your light and mirror looking cohesive!
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What is the Best Shape for a Vanity Mirror?
Mirrors come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. We’ve already talked about sizing, but what about shapes?
It’s truly up to personal preference! However, I personally feel that there are better shapes for different size vanities.
Best Mirror Shape for 24-30 Inch Vanity
For a 24-inch or 30-inch vanity, rectangular or oval mirror shapes tend to work the best. A rectangular mirror hung vertically is able to take up the needed width as well as the needed height guidelines.
Best Mirror Shape for 36 Inch Vanity
When dealing with a 36-inch vanity, a round mirror would look best. You would be able to hit both the width and height guidelines, and this is probably the only vanity width that would look super good with a round mirror.
Best Mirror Shape for 48-72 Inch Vanity
For anything between 48-72 inch vanities, a horizontally hung rectangular mirror would be your best option.
And for a wider vanity, such as the 60-inch or 72-inch, you have the option to do two separate mirrors. If you are doing two separate mirrors over a double vanity, rectangular or oval mirrors will look best.
Most Important Considerations for Bathroom Mirror Over Vanity
So let’s recap. Here are the key things to remember when considering a bathroom mirror over a vanity.
Your bathroom mirror should be:
- 2-4 inches narrower than the vanity countertop
- 4 inches wider than the sink bowl (2 inches on either side)
- 30-36 inches tall
- Eye-level with the person using it most, or 60 inches from the floor to the center of the mirror
- 2-5 inches above the top of your faucet
- 3-5 inches from the light fixture
- 4 inches from any side sconces
And lastly, your bathroom mirror should be perfect for YOUR space. All of the guidelines in this post are simply a rule of thumb. If you have to alter any of the numbers by an inch or so, you have to do what’s best for you and ultimately what YOU love most!
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Hi! Would you be able to provide me with a link to the wallpaper in the picture of your smaller bathroom please? Thank you so much, and this was a great article!!
Hi there! We are adding a small bathroom to our kids’ game room. In order to fit everything, we had to purchase a small vanity – that’s only 20 inches in width. How wide should our vanity mirror be? The narrowest vanity mirror I can find is 17 inches. There are no windows/no natural light in this bathroom. Thanks!
Hello! It’s perfectly acceptable to have a 16″-18″ wide vanity mirror given the smaller vanity size. I did some searching and found some cute options that would fit in this scenario! Depending on the style you’re going for and the height of mirror you’re needing, one of these might be a good match for your space. Looks like they all have generally good reviews too! 😊 -Alley
–17″x30″ Oval Mirror
–16″x24″ Rectangular Mirror
–16″x28″ Oval Pill Mirror
What about a mirror for a 42 inch vanity? which shape would look best? this is a small bathroom
Hi Jessica! For a 42 inch vanity, there are two different options that would look good in your space. For option #1, you could go with a 36″ round mirror – this will proportionally fill the width and height above the vanity. For option #2, you could go with a rectangular mirror that is 36 inches by 24 inches – you can hang it horizontally so it’s wider than it is taller, or hang it vertically. A 42 inch vanity is right at the sweet spot to where you could get away with a 24″ wide mirror, as long as it’s taller. I personally love a tall mirror, so regardless if you went with a round or rectangular mirror, it’ll help make your small bathroom feel bigger! -Alley
Thank you for your response. It so happens that the 42-inch didn’t fit so we had to go with a 36 inch vanity. I love your suggestions so thank you.
What do you think of hanging a rectangular mirror over a vanity only above the countertop part (which is about 36 inches, give-or-take) and placing some kind of wall hanging on the wall above where the sink is located on the far right end of the vanity? This far right side is next to the doorway out of the bathroom, so it is often open. Your thoughts?
Hello! My recommendation would be to get one large mirror that can span the width of both the countertop area and the sink. That way when the door is closed and you’re at the sink, you’ll still be able to see your reflection! If this is a smaller bathroom, a large mirror will also make your space look bigger than it is. Big mirrors give off the illusion of extra space which is always nice for really any room – and one of my favorite tricks. If one large mirror doesn’t quite cut it, you can also consider buying two mirrors – one for over the sink and one for over the countertop area following the advice from this post. In the end, always do what you believe is best for your space – so if you’ve got your heart set on the wall hanging above the sink, then I say go for it! -Alley